Video Study for Parshiot Behar - Bechokutai : Shmittah & Rebuke

[muman613]

Shalom JTF Readers,

This week we are reading once again a 'double portion', the portions of Behar (The Mountain) and Bechokutai... Behar goes into descriptions of the Shmitta year (the year when all agriculture ceases and the land is left fallow) which occurs on a seven year cycle. After seven shmittah years there is a Jubilee year which occurs every fifty years.

In the second portion of the double portion we read the dreadful curses which Hashem lists in order to encourage us to keep the mitzvot...

From Chabad's 'Parsha in a Nutshell' @ http://www.chabad.org/parshah/article_cdo/aid/2904/jewish/Behar-Bechukotai-in-a-Nutshell.htm

On the mountain of Sinai, G‑d communicates to Moses the laws of the Sabbatical year: every seventh year, all work on the land should cease, and its produce becomes free for the taking for all, man and beast.

Seven Sabbatical cycles are followed by a fiftieth year—the Jubilee year, on which work on the land ceases, all indentured servants are set free, and all ancestral estates in the Holy Land that have been sold revert to their original owners. Additional laws governing the sale of lands, and the prohibitions against fraud and usury, are also given.

G‑d promises that if the people of Israel will keep His commandments, they will enjoy material prosperity and dwell secure in their homeland. But He also delivers a harsh “rebuke,” warning of the exile, persecution and other evils that will befall them if they abandon their covenant with Him. Nevertheless, “Even when they are in the land of their enemies, I will not cast them away; nor will I ever abhor them, to destroy them and to break My covenant with them; for I am the L‑rd their G‑d.”

The Parshah concludes with the rules on how to calculate the values of different types of pledges made to G‑d.

These are the last two portions of the book of Leviticus....

Rabbi Richman did not make a double portion video this year...

[muman613]

Once again I was interrupted by guests at my home... Hopefully I can get a few more videos in tonight..

[muman613]

Some Breslever Torah for a change...

[muman613]

Rabbi Berel Wein is a great Torah scholar and Jewish historian. His comments on Bechokotai are timely.


http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/16928#.VVV7WHU4l4s

The book of Vayikra concludes this week with the Torah reading of Bechukotai. The Torah reading presents before us rather stark choices. Blessings and disasters are described to us and it is apparently our behavior, actions and lifestyles – all of which are within our range of life choices – that will determine our individual fate and national future.

It appears to be an all or nothing scenario with the Torah providing us with little or no wiggle room. And since the stakes are so high and the consequences of failure are so dire, the challenge before us is doubly daunting and even frightening.  Yet, the Torah also assures us that the Jewish people as an entity, if not all individual Jews, will somehow survive and yet prosper in the end and inherit all the blessings described in this week’s Torah reading. The Jewish people will experience many defeats in the long history of civilization and in the relationship of the non-Jewish world to the Jewish people. But none of these defeats will be of permanent and eternal nature.

Somehow the seeming victor and conqueror will itself become vanquished while the Jewish people will continue in its show of resilience and fortitude. After several millennia of history and all types of human and national events, it is difficult to view the Jewish story in any other light.

So the true message that shines forth from this week’s Torah reading is that of the eternal resilience and strength of the Jewish people in not only surviving all of the disasters outlined in this Torah reading but in the uncanny ability of the Jewish people to eventually triumph and succeed, no matter how great the odds against them are.

Rashi emphasizes the requirement  to “toil in Torah” as being the interpretation of the first verse in Bechukotai. Toiling in Torah has many subtleties associated with it aside from its simple meaning of hard and consistent study. In its broadest sense one can say that the Jew who toils, in no matter what field he or she is toiling, must always do so by associating endeavors with Torah values and behavior.

The commandment therefore is not merely restricted to the Talmudic scholars of Israel but is a commandment to be observed by every Jew, no matter what line of work or profession he is engaged in. The life and survival of the Jew and of the Jewish people as a whole is dependent on the presence of Torah values, lifestyle and behavior in all aspects of participation in human society.

Toil, in the spiritual sense, is therefore not restricted only to the study hall or to the scholar. The rabbis have taught us, based on the biblical verse, that humans are born to toil; fortunate is the person whose toil is in Torah. Again, in its narrow interpretation this refers to the scholar and student of Torah. But, also again, in its broadest sense it refers to a person who is able to experience and appreciate Torah life and values, no matter his work or profession. A person that feels that the Torah accompanies him everywhere will always be reckoned among those that toil in, with and for the Torah.

Shabbat shalom

Rabbi Berel Wein     

[muman613]

Rabbi Richman has just posted his Bechukotai talk to youtube... I'm sure he is going to get deep into the meaning of the Tochecha.

[muman613]

Rabbi Wein, once again, discusses what we learn from the Tochacha.

http://torah.org/learning/rabbiwein/5765/bechukosai.html

Parshas Bechukosai

From Gory To Glory

By Rabbi Berel Wein

This week’s concluding parsha of the book of Vayikra contains a doleful prophecy – the tochacha – of troubles and exile that would befall the Jewish people in its future. It is not only the depressing content of the tochacha but also its gory detail that has always troubled me. And, I also questioned why the Torah should include a tochacha of this nature at all in its writings. After all, warning people about what will happen to them centuries later down the road of history rarely affects their current behavior. People do all sorts of things when they are younger that they know will be injurious to their health and even eventually shorten their lifespan. And yet, they persist for the moment in doing what seems enjoyable and pleasant to them, no matter what the later consequences will be. A fair assessment of Jewish history will indicate that the threat of the tochacha did not prevent the destruction of the First and Second Temples and of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel. It is therefore almost reasonable to state that the tochacha is not so much a warning to Israel as it is a sad prediction of events that will happen. But that still begs the question of why so much detail. A general statement of the ills of the destruction of national sovereignty and of forced exile from one’s own homeland would apparently have sufficed as a prediction of future events.

The Talmud at the conclusion of mesechet Makot relates the story of Rabbi Akiva and his colleagues who viewed the ruins of the Second Temple. As they stood there and gazed in awe at the site of what once was the most beautiful structure in the world, a fox emerged from the ruins of where the Holy of Holies had stood. Rabbi Akiva’s companions wept at the sight of desolation and despair that now unfolded before their eyes. Rabbi Akiva however laughed in delight. When asked by his incredulous colleagues as to why he was laughing, he answered: “There are two prophecies recorded regarding the future of the Jewish people. One predicted that a fox would emerge from the ruins of the Temple. The other prediction was that Jewish old men and women would sit in joy and contentment in the streets of Jerusalem and watch children at play. Only when the first prophecy about the fox emerged in reality and exact detail before my very eyes did I realize that the second prophecy would also come true in full detail and accuracy.” The Torah told us in awful detail everything that the tochacha entailed. We are living witness to the chilling accuracy of every one of its words. There is no prose or hyperbole in the holy Torah. Every word is the truth. Therefore the Torah spent space and detail in describing the tochacha to us, so that we can rest assured that all of the blessings that also appear in this week’s parsha will be fulfilled in every glorious detail. May we merit that speedily and in our days.

Shabat shalom.
Rabbi Berel Wein

[muman613]

Alright... One more Torah topic and then off to work...

The great Rabbi Shlomo Katz column at Torah.org...


http://www.torah.org/learning/hamaayan/5775/behar.html

*******

“If your brother becomes impoverished and sells part of his ancestral heritage, his redeemer who is closest to him shall come and redeem his brother’s sale.” (25:25)

R’ Menachem Mendel Hager z”l (1886-1941; rabbi, rosh yeshiva and chassidic rebbe in Oyber Visheve, Hungary) writes: This verse can be understood in light of Arizal’s explanation of the words of shemoneh esrei, “Place our lot with them [the righteous].” How can we pray for something that depends on our own free will? Rather, Arizal (R’ Yitzchak Luria; 1534-1572) explains, when a person sins, the reward for his good deeds is taken from him and given to tzaddikim. However, the righteous do not want what is not theirs, and they voluntarily return this reward to its original owner. Thus we pray: If we have sinned and lost our reward, at least place our lot with the type of tzaddik who will return it to us.

R’ Hager continues: Our verse can be understood similarly. “If your brother becomes impoverished”--referring to a person who is “impoverished” of good sense and therefore sins–“and sells part of his ancestral heritage”--he transfers what should have been his to someone else--“his redeemer”--a tzaddik--“who is closest to him shall come and redeem his brother's sale.”

However, R’ Hager notes, a person does not have to rely on the kindness of a tzaddik; he can earn his reward back. Thus, the next verses says: “If a man has no redeemer, but his means suffice and he acquires enough for its redemption; then he shall reckon the years of his sale and return the remainder to the man to whom he had sold it; and he shall return to his ancestral heritage.” Through teshuvah, a person’s “means [can] suffice” to acquire back what once was rightfully his. The tzaddik himself will make arguments on the person’s behalf, noting that his sins are the result of the long exile, i.e., “he shall reckon the years of his sale [into the hands of the gentile nations].” (Sheirit Menachem)

********

“If you will walk in [the way of] My decrees and observe My commandments and perform them.” (26:3)

Rashi z”l writes: One might think that the phrase “If you will walk in [the way of] My decrees” refers to fulfilling the commandments. However, when the Torah says, “and observe My commandments and perform them,” it is clear that that refers to fulfilling the commandments. How then must we interpret: “If you will walk in [the way of] My decrees”? As an admonition that one should exert himself for Torah study.

R’ Shmuel Halevi Wosner z”l (1913-2015; prominent posek living in Bnei Brak, Israel) writes about studying Torah with exertion (“ameilut”):

The Gemara (Sanhedrin 99b) teaches: Man was created to exert himself, as we read (Iyov 5:7), “Man is born for exertion.” The Gemara continues: I don’t know whether this refers to exertion through speech or through action; therefore it says (Mishlei 16:26), “He saddled his mouth.” Still, I don’t know whether it refers to speaking words of Torah or idle chatter; therefore it says (Yehoshua 1:8), “This Book of the Torah is not to leave your mouth. You shall contemplate it day and night.” From this we can conclude that man was created to exert himself in Torah study. [Until here from the Gemara]

R’ Wosner explains: Hashem placed us in a physical world, not in a spiritual world. Man could therefore look around at the world, analyze his tremendous potential, and conclude that he was created in order to go to work and invent goods and services that will serve the physical world. This is the viewpoint that the Gemara is proposing, and rejecting, when it suggests that man was created to exert himself through action. It is true that we read (Tehilim 128:2), “When you eat the labor of your hands, you are praiseworthy,” but that is not the purpose for which man was created.

R’ Wosner continues: How could the Gemara contemplate that man was created to engage in idle chatter? He explains: Of course the Gemara is not referring to actual idle chatter. Rather, a person’s Torah study can be idle chatter as well if he does not exert himself and use his full potential. A person was not created for that kind of Torah study, but rather to exert himself. (Derashot V’sichot Shevet Ha’levi 5759 p.240)

 

“If you will follow My decrees and observe My commandments . . .” (26:3)

Rashi writes that “If you will follow My decrees” refers to toiling in Torah study. If so, writes R’ Akiva Yosef Schlesinger z”l (Hungary and Yerushalayim; died 1922), we can understand why this verse follows immediately after the verse, “My Sabbaths you shall observe.” Specifically, the Midrash Tanna D’vei Eliyahu states that the primary time for Torah study is on Shabbat, when one is free from work. (Torat Yechiel)