Behar-Bechukosai - 2nd Portion

Join us as we learn chitas for Monday parshas Behar Bechukosai, the two last Torah readings combined. The Torah now continues with the laws of the sabbatical year. Chapter 25, verse 19. Should you observe the sabbatical year properly, you can be guaranteed that the land will yield its produce and you will eat to satiate. And you'll be able to live on it securely. Rashi verse 19. You will not have to worry in the year that there is no rain. A year that is a seemingly a drought, you'll have what to eat. Even within your own stomachs, you will feel the satiation from the food that you're eating, that whatever you eat is going to be a be satiated. Verse 20. The question is, you may ask What will we eat in the seventh year? We cannot sow. We cannot gather our our produce. We cannot save. Meaning we didn't gather it into our homes. We cannot Whether it's the wine or the fruits of the tree, which are not planted which are not planted every year. We only plant them once. And therefore or even things that just grow on their own. But everything is included in the word produce. Verse 21. So what does God tell us? Know then that I will command my blessing. To you in the sixth year. That in the sixth year That the sixth year you will make produce that will that will make you last for three years, which is going to be the second half of the sixth year, after the harvest of Nissan, the seven entire seventh year until the Nissan of the eighth year, which then you can only harvest what was sowed from the of the following year. As Rashi explains, part of the sixth from Nissan to Rosh Hashanah. For the entire seventh sabbatical year, for the eighth year because from Rosh Hashanah until Nissan. They're only going to sow it in the So you already three years that they need to have the food that should survive them. Verse 22. And you will then sow in the You will then eat from the crop that you will grow. When are you going to eat from the crop? You are shown. Which is going to be in Nissan time. You'll eat from the old crop. Until the ninth year. Crop arrives from the until the of the ninth year, the arrival of its crops that you'll be able to bring the granaries and into your home. Rashi. What does it mean until the ninth year? So Rashi explains. That means until of the ninth year. Cuz that's when you're eventually going to be able to bring in whatever you was sown and been harvested in the eighth year. You may say throughout the summer where is the field and where is the produce in the field and in the warehouses? But only when it comes time when it's time for the fall, that's when you that's when you bring everything into the home. Sometimes it would even have to be for four years. When would that be? You have the sixth year which is the 48th year of the Jubilee year, right before the Jubilee year. Same thing You're not allowed to work then. It's not allowed to work with the ground for two years, two consecutive years. The sabbatical year and the Jubilee year. This verse is referring to all those as well, all the sabbatical years, including the ones that are next to the Jubilee year, that you will need more food for it. The Torah over here tells us about this concept and we know that there's actually a story told in the beginning of the founding of when the Jewish people returned to the land of Israel. And they were keeping the sabbatical year. There was only one religious known as that they were keeping the sabbatical year and while all the other secular did not. And it happened to be that was a drought and the only ones that were able to produce grain the following year after the sabbatical year was the that observed the sabbatical year and they actually sold their grain to the secular because because they did not have grain even though they were not observing the sabbatical year. So we saw clearly the observance of the sabbatical year gives the person the food to be able to supply themselves for all the remaining years. It is interesting to note as well, this is the only place where the Torah puts a doubt into a person's mind saying You may ask, how may I survive? Where the Torah tells us, yes, you may doubt, but this is where you see the greatest blessing of God. Now the Torah continues to tell us about the laws pertaining real estate. If you recall, we spoke about that in the Jubilee year, after 49 years, all land returns to its original owner. Verse 23. The land must not be sold to sever. The land belongs to me. Because you are sojourners and residents when dealing with my land. What does this mean? Rashi explains. Over here the Torah is telling us about the land that is sold is never sold for eternity. Because as we mentioned previously, when it comes to the Jubilee year, everybody gets back their land. This is a negative commandment. Meaning that if a person would not want to give back his land to its owners. That the buyer should not say, hey, I'm keeping it. I'm not returning it. To let you know that this would be abrogating a negative commandment. The word means for stopping, to sever. To think that this was a land sale for eternity. No, it's only a lease up until the Jubilee year and you have to return it to its owners. Don't think, oh well, this is my land. How can I give it to somebody else? You should know it's not yours. It's not yours. It belongs to It's not yours. It belongs to me. Verse 24. And throughout your land of possessions redemption you should give to the land. Rashi. [snorts] This includes the homes that are built in walled cities. And which is a Jewish slave that was sold to a Jew. All of these people get their redemption. This is explained clearly in the tractate of chapter one. As well as according to the simple interpretation, some of the this actually has to do with the following Torah reading. >> [snorts] >> That anybody that sells a property is allowed to go and buy it back after two years. Or you either he can buy back or his or his relative. And the buyer cannot say, no, I bought it. I don't want to sell it. He has the right to buy it back as we're going to see in the next following verses. Chapter 25. When we talk about land being sold land can only be sold under dire circumstances where a person doesn't have money and therefore the way that he has to earn some money he can sell his land. However, it is forbidden to commercially to sell land in the land of Israel because as we know, when it comes to the Jubilee, they're going to get it back. And as well as the different things that come along with it. So therefore the Torah tells us that if a person does have to sell his land he can have one of his relatives buy it back for him. Verse 25. When a person if your brother becomes destitute and because of that he sells some of his inherited land and therefore redeemer who is related to him may then come after two years of the sale. The meaning of that and redeem and buy and redeem that which his relative has sold. Rashi. Teaching us that a person should not just sell his land. He's only allowed to sell it if he's destitute. From what he inherited. Not all of it. Limit that he had. The Torah is telling us a way of a practice that a person should behave. Don't sell everything. Keep something for yourself. And the buyer cannot hold him back. Of course, this is talking about after two years. Verse 26. A man who has a relative A man who does not have a relative with the means to redeem his land. He had a day. However, he obtained sufficient means on his own. Now can afford to redeem the land on his own. Is it possible that there's a Jew that doesn't have somebody to redeem it? Meaning we're all related. Every Jew is related. Of course, the guy has relatives. But he needs a relative wealthy enough to be able to redeem the property. 27. Therefore, he must calculate the years for which he has been sold. And return the difference to the man whom he sold it to, and then he may return to his inheritance. Rashi says, what does it mean he has to calculate? How many years until the Jubilee year? Calculate the amount. How much did he sell it for? Calculate the amount. He would have got it back in the Jubilee year. That means the lease was only for the amount of years until the Jubilee year. Meaning that the guy buys how much produce would this would would this field produce every year? Now you have to look how many I sold it to you for 20 years. You ate from it three or four years. I taste to me and take out that three four years. Do you have 16 or 17 years left? That's how much I'm paying him for it. This is what it means that he gives him the remainder with the mayor Mecca from what he bought it for. He has to then pay the buyer minus the years that the buyer enjoyed the field and everything else he has to pay him for it. This is my client. The seller who sold it initially can now come and buy it back from the buyer who sold it who he sold it to. 28. What happens if he cannot afford enough money to repay it to be able to buy it? The whole year he got to be out of the house. Then what he sold must remain in the possession of the one who purchased it until the Jubilee year. And then in the Jubilee year for sure he goes back original owner's inheritance. Rashi From here we learn that you can't just redeem it halfway. Either you got the money you don't got the money to be able to buy it back. This owner does not the field still remains to the buyer. He cannot go into the field at all. But the Jubilee the Jubilee year from the beginning of the year it goes back to its owner and he cannot go and ask him for it during that year at all. This concludes the second Torah reading for Parshas Behar Bechukotai.