Behar-Bechukosai - 3rd Portion

Join me as we learn kumish for Tuesday parasai combined. And we continue in the laws pertaining to the real estate of how it's sold and how it may be redeemed and when it's allowed to be bought back. The Torah now tells us about concerning a home which was bought in a walled city. Well, yesterday we discussed about a home that was in a farmland and how and when it can be redeemed. Today we continue into a different type of home. When a man sells a residential home in a walled city, the redemption can take place only until the end of the year of sale. It's a period of the redemption of a full year. The word yumim refers to a year will be the time that a person can do the redemption. Rashi verse 29 a home that's in a walled city. What's considered a walled city? It has to be walled from the time of Joshua who was the one when the Jewish people conquered and settled in the land of Israel. Because he mentioned previously that when it comes to a farmland, one can redeem it from two years onward and any time he wants after those two years. But in the first two years, he's not able to redeem it. The Torah has to tell us that the law is just the opposite here. It's the opposite of when it comes to a farmland that if a person wants to redeem it in the first year that he can redeem it, but after this after the first year, there's no longer a chance for him to redeem it. He can redeem what can he redeem of the home. Meaning when he has that appointed time for that year, he's allowed to redeem the home. Yamim the word Yamim in this case means you may shanim it's called the entire year we see this as well in the book of Genesis when uh Alzar comes to pick up Rifka where the brothers ask let the glad let the girl stay with us for another year and the word refers to a year verse 30 what happens if the person does not redeem it after a complete year The buys a year then the city that is in the city and then the home that is in the city will then remain for the person who purchased it for throughout the generations. That person who purchased it now stays his permanently means permanently to the one that buys it for future generations. It does not go out in the jubilee year. The word means now leaves the uh ownership of the seller and now it stays with the ownership of the buyer for eternity. The word though it's written with an al if it is read with which means to him and to him the rabbis have explained even though now it doesn't have a wall because the wall was already fell from the time of Yeshua because there was a a wall there prior to this. So therefore it's considered a city and therefore loy no wall there now. That's why it's written with an olive but it had a wall previously. Uh then Rashi adds to this and says here if you look at the word it says which is technically it should have written law because ear is feminine. So therefore the feminine terminology should have been used. because it wanted to write that you would read it to him and also it should write not and wanted to give you this dual interpretation. Therefore, it said loy instead of to make sure that the two terminologies should fit with one another. doesn't go out in the jubilee year says if I already know that the home is going to stay yours for eternity why does it say it has doesn't go out in the jubile year that even if the jubileer happens to be in the first year of the person buying it he still does not go go out and it stays in the buyer's domain verse 31 in contrast to houses of old cities houses that are in open cities that do not have a around them. They could be considered as a field. They always have the opportunity to be redeemed and they go out in the Jubilee as well. Verse 31, meaning they're open, cities that are open and do not have a wall. We find this terminology used a lot in the book of Yeshua when it talks about the cities, those without a wall and those with a wall. They are like the fields that can be redeemed until the jubilee year and they go out in the jubilee year to its original owners. If they were not redeemed they have a redemption meaning if the person wants to redeem it good for him. With this we see actually that the power that the owner or the way it works for the law pertaining a house which is in an open field better than the actual farmland itself. A field a farmland you have to wait two years until a person can redeem it. However, when it comes to a home on an open field that means when an unwalled city you can redeem it right away and it also goes back in the jubilee year. without any payment. It goes back to the original original owner. Verse 32. However, there's an exception to all this. However, the cities of the Levites, the Levites have unlimited rights of redemption. The houses of their cities are their landed property. What this means as Rashi explains our year there were 48 cities that were given to the Levites throughout amongst the cities of the land of Israel the person can right away let's say if a person bought it the Levite can right away purchase it back he doesn't have to wait two years even before two years if they sold the field that was given to them within the 2,000 of the perimeter of their field and around their cities or even if they sold a house in a walled city, they can always redeem it and it's never considered the entirety of the property of the buyer sh even at the end of the year. Meaning the very fact that it tells us that they can redeem it whenever they want. Meaning that the Levite gets the exception in both cases. He has the leniency that he's able to buy it even within the first year. And he also has the lenency that he can always buy it back. It always will be the Levites. Verse 33. And one that was redeemed from the Levites. If someone purchases a home from a Levite, then what happens is then the purchased house or the inherited city would leave the possession of the purchaser. Why? When would that be? Bal in the Jubilee year. Just like everybody else, it goes back to the Levite in the B in the in the Jubilee because the houses of the cities of the Levites are their inherited property and therefore they're allotted. They were allotted these 48 cities not like every other tribe. They got a certain portion of land and because of that they have the unlimited rights of redemption. Verse 33. If a person purchases a home or a city from them and it goes back is the purchase of that home of the city and it goes back to the original Levite that sold it. It does not stay for eternity for the buyer like any other walled city like we mentioned before like goes it always stays with the buyer. However, this case by when it comes to a Levite, it stays. It goes back to the Levite. The word redemption means that he can always buy it back. Another explanation of how to explain this is as follows. Because it said already in verse 32, that they always have the opportunity to redeem it. I would have thought that this is only referring to to an Israelite that may have bought a home from a Levite. but a Levite that bought it from a Levite. It should be the same laws as if it was an Israelite buying from an Israelite and therefore it should always belong to the buyer and never go back to the purchaser if it was bought within the year of a walled city. Therefore, the Torah goes on to tell us if it was purchased if it was redeemed by a ley even if a Levite purchased it from another ley which then you can argue well the Levite also got the gift. Still in all it goes back to the original ley in the jubilee year. Now this comes another mitzvah that if the person did not redeem it goes back in the jubilee year to the original owner. The doesn't stay permanently for the end of the year in the home of the in the property of the Israelite. What's the reason? The Torah is giving us a reason. The Levites did not get a inheritance, a portion of fields and vineyards in the same vast amount like all the other tribes. They got cities and places to live. Therefore, therefore, their cities, their homes are like the fields and like the farmland. And the same laws that apply to the farmland would apply to the homes of the Levites. This way they should not lose their property and uh and thereby diminishing their real estate. Verse 34 and a field that is an open areas of the Levites cannot be sold because this is an internal eternal for them. Rashi, what is this referring to? This is not me gizbar when we talk about not that it can't be sold at all where it's referring to a certain type of selling meaning there's a certain law that when it comes to hdish as we're going to learn in par as well that when a person dedicates something to the holy temple the holy temple doesn't have place for real estate where they going to keep all these fields and manage it so therefore there was a treasure who would take the field and he would then sell it and then he would have to use the money for holy opportunities therefore over years or flow or fixing the place of the holy temple whatever it was used for over here it's talking about as follows dedicated his field for holiness and he never redeemed it and then the treasurer went and sold the field because since nobody ever bought it nobody ever purchased the owner himself never redeemed it so generally in such a case the field would go to the cohain in the jubilee year and like by Israelites If the treasurer will sell it at this field to somebody else, they would never be able to redeem it. Why? Because once it's already sold by the treasure, it's already dedicated to the holy temple. The treasurer already sold a field, there's no taking it back because already moved two hands and it goes to a cohen. When it comes to a Levite, the treasurer's field, even though the treasurer may have sold it, the Levite can always purchase it back. Goyam gets it back. The Torah now goes on to tell us the laws about charity and taking care of those people that are less fortunate. If your brother is becoming destitute and therefore you must support him, you have to give him that support whether it's a convert or a resident that he should be able to live with you. you will support him. Don't wait until the person completely falls. Then it'll be very difficult to get him up. Support him before he falls all the way down before he's about to fall and thereby avoiding the terrible tragedy of him falling completely. What does this compare to? Imagine a dunkey is carrying a load. The dunkey still has the load on his on his back. It's you just need a little bit of adjustment and therefore one person can come and fix it. It's the moment that load falls to the ground even five people can't pick up that load. What does it mean? A comfort in a resident even if he's only uh a convert meaning that he's a convert that converted to Judaism or he's a resident. What's the difference? What's a resident? If he accepts upon himself the seventh and primarily not the survival worship, but he still eats non-cooser like a non-Jew, he's considered a resident and you have the obligation to help him out as well. Verse 36, the laws pertaining interest. You must not take from him interest and interest different types of interest and as we're soon going to see thereby fearing God and your brother must live with you. These are two terminologies of interest. The rabbi said this is all referring to the same thing. The difference is only Nash means that comes from the word of a snake that he takes a little but the entrance comes a little bit little and tabbas is that you add on a sir charge onto the loan that you give the individual. Both of the cases you're taking a payment for the loan and it's not an interest free loan. The rabbi said that they're both the same thing. But why does the Torah mention it two times to so that a person abregates two desecrations, two negative commandments by doing that? Why does it conclude by saying you must fear? Because since it's very enticing and a person would really desire to take a little bit of a search charge and can justify it as well and saying, "Listen, I'm getting the guy a loan. What's the big deal if I make a little money off it? I'm giving money that I no longer have and now the the borrower is able to use it. Why can't I get something from it?" And not only that, he justifies the reason for it. And because of that, we find in Jewish law, it's one of the only places where it says the person has to be very careful because of the justification. Therefore, God says that I know exactly what's going on and I know what you're feeling, but at the same time, if you try to cheat the system, God knows what's happening. Or a person says he loans the money um from that money and he claims that it's the non-Jews. This way, This way he can loan it to a Jew by taking interest. This is something which is given over to a person's thought and mind. And the only one that can know what's going on in your own thoughts and minds is God. Therefore, therefore, he says you must fear God because God knows exactly what's in your heart and your desires and what it will and cause you to do. The Torah then continues verse 36 I'm sorry verse 37 your money you're should not give him in on the condition of paying interest and you must not give your food on the condition of interest as well verse 38 took you out of the land of Egypt said it'san to give you the land of canananim to be for you a god. Verse 38. I was able to determine who was a firstborn and who was not a firstborn. So too I'm able to determine and see when you're loaning money interest. Are you saying it's your money and you're claiming it's the non-Jews or it's really your money and what you're doing. Therefore, I can differentiate and distinguish and see and the person who does it will be liable for what he does. Another explanation is I took you out of the land of Egypt on the condition that you should accept my commandments even at times when it's difficult as the prohibition of interest which can be difficult at times but thereby is the reason why I took you out of the land of Egypt to give you the land of Cananan. You're getting the land of Cananan. You're getting the land of Israel because of the reward of the investment that you put in to observe the commandments. Any person who lives in the land of Israel, I am their God. One who leaves the land of Israel for no reason is as if he served idolatry. This concludes the third Torah reading of paras when they are combined.