Rabbi Benjamin Yudin Discusses Parshas Behar and Bechukosai (5786)

Good morning. Good shabus everybody. Tomorrow we have the privilege of reading two parios that of kosai. We complete safer vayikra. Whoa. We are moving very close to kabala shaturra. Okay. Let's know first of all the breakdown of Bahar has 24 mitzvos seven positive and 17 restrictions andosai contains 12 mitzvos seven positive five restrictions so we have a total of 36 mitzvos between the two parachios of Bahar and Bhu Kosai okay I'd like to begin a little bit different this week than usual by a simple question like do you really believe? What does that mean? Do you really believe? Okay. Do you really believe that the mountains all complained to Hashem? Like what are you doing? How could you give the Torah on Hari? Okay. Do you really believe that the rocks were fighting among each other? Namely, each one was saying, "Oh, let Yakov put his head on me." And therefore the Torah tells us that initially Jacob takes from the stones of the place and in the morning he takes the the stone and he makes it into a mata. Well, make up your mind. Where many stones? One stone. Well, no problem. Say the rabbis. As we know, Rashi brings it that the many stones joined into one to satisfy the desire of the sadic. And here too, we have the mountains arguing with each other. Now, if you take a look in Sam who 68. So what do we find in there? Amazing. David Hamel speaks about the mountains having this desire each one that the Torah should be given on it. Whoa. Now don't get me wrong. Do you really believe this? And the answer is yes. Why do I believe it? I believe it through this week's para or parote of there's no question that the more we look at the text the more we study the more we realize that Eritel the land of Israel is literally God's majestic playland he does things at Erit Israel that completely define nature show it to be not simply a physical but a metaphysical entity in of itself. The nature of the world is that agricultural societies work the land for a year or two and then they have quote crop rotation. Here what the Torah is providing us with six years of straight working the land. And you'd imagine that after six years, what do you have? Just a little bit left because the land is worn out. It is just after six years that the Torah tells us not to work on the seventh year. Okay? Only Hashem is the only power in the world that can tell an entire country, take the year off. Shabashem the land itself which has feelings as we know. We know it from the end of aos. We know it from the end of Kadoshim that if immorality is wrong all over the world. But the land of Israel cannot tolerate immoral immorality. And if one is immoral, a people are immoral on the land of Israel, the land will, as the Torah says, vomit you out. The land, the world cannot tolerate injustice. But the land of Israel says the Torah at the end of the book of you shouldn't pollute the land. Meaning that if there is a murderer who says, "Don't kill me. I'll give you $20 million to build a hospital." And the Torah says, "Don't take it." Okay, you and I might have thought twice. The Torah says, "Don't take it." Because not only is it that the murderer is to be put to death, the land itself demands that there be true justice in the land. Uh, so now take a look. The Torah says for 6 years you're to work. The seventh year you're not to work. So you're not going to plant until the eighth. If you're not going to plant until the eth, it's not going to come up until the 9th. So how are you supposed to get by? So the Torah tells us very simply. Now you have to see twoim one after the other. The first one is in Bahar chapter 25 which means or reads the orio the land will give its fruit and you will eat your fill and you'll live securely on the And good. And then the Torah says, "But if you should ask after all, what are we going to eat in the seventh year?" We're not going to plant. We're not going to gather in our crops. So, Hashem says, "I and only I will ordain my blessing." Hashem promises for you in the sixth year and it will yield a crop sufficient for three years. Now, what does that mean? It will yield a crop for three years. It means that it'll be part of what you plant in the sixth will be for the seventh. You're not planting in the seventh. So it will be for part of the eth and part of the ninth. Unbelievable. So what's going on here? What's going on here is that this is beyond nature, beyond the natural in any way to look at it. And moreover, listen carefully. The Torah is teaching us the first verse 19, you will eat and you will be satiated. And Rashi says an incredible three words. What does Rashi say? Within your stomach, within your intestines, normally it takes a full sandwich, two halves of a sandwich to satisfy a growing boy. here your growing boy is going to eat a half a sandwich and that is going to completely satiate him. If you take the Torah literally and you're going to have three years of produce, you need more silos. You need more workers. It's going to be a wow bounty, but it's also going to be extra pain and trouble in the neck. Here we're getting at everything but we're getting it in quality not quantity. Whoa. Now with this I believe we can understand the very first verse in or the second verse I'm sorry the very first verse in paras God spoke to Moshe Bhari Lemore literally on Mount Si saying so the obvious question is it's wonderful that the Torah is teaching us the laws because of Shmita and Rashi says, "Oh, what does this come to teach us?" Just as Shmita has this or these qualities just at this mitzvah of Shmita has these qualities and were given to us at Sinai. So too, says Rashi, were all the mitzvah given to us at Sinai. But the obvious question is what's so special about Sinai that we have to learn that all the mitzvos emulate Sinai. So the shame is in his commentary on paras gives the following beautiful explanation. This Torah tells us as we will read on the first day of Shabuos. And the Torah tells us in chapter 19 in the book of Schmos, the Torah says, "On this day midbari, on this day we came to Mount Si, the mountain of Si, the wilderness of Si." And then the Torah tells us again and and Israel what camped in the wilderness opposite the mountain. So what's going on here with the Torah stressing that we were in the midbar of Sai and that we camped as one by the mountain. So the Mishmo says beautifully that really Sinai encapsulates two opposite characteristics both of which are needed on the one hand we need the fact that Sinai as we tell our children but it's much more than a children's uh story. It is that which we believe that all of nature is involved in praising Hashem. And so the idea behind it is it that when the Torah I'm sorry when Tim says in TM 6 8 wo and go to verse 17. Why do you prance oh you mountains of majestic peace? Meaning what? Why did you not give the Torah on us? And the next verse 17 continues that the mountain that God desired for his abode. And what is that? because it is one of the smaller mountains teaching us humility. So on the one hand in order for the Jewish people to achieve is and you need to have unity. You need to have a sense of bele one to another. You need to have anova humility. But at the same time you also have to have as it says by inbraim whereby in you do need a certain sense of pride in being a Jew in being proud of all the mitzvah of the Torah. So which one is it? The answer is Sinai reflects both. H so we're to learn from Sinai that we need to have both. This is what Erit Israel teaches us. Not just for the fact that you have the laws of which defy all of nature which is what our Torah is beyond the natural. But take a look everybody at one of my favorite sukim in Vayikra whereby the Torah says in 26 colon 32 God promised that I will keep the land of Israel as long as you are away in gulos which was for almost 2,000 years. God says, "I will keep the landow and your enemies will be amazed that the land is going to be desolate. They're not going to be able to grow lemons, oranges, potatoes, wheat to sustain them. The land will be babysat by Hashem himself." And I honestly believe that each and every one of us should look at this in two ways. On the one hand, like God is giving each and every one of us a divine wink. How important are you? You are living in times. Take a look how the land of Israel. Take a look in the prophetes chapter 36 verse 8. The land of Israel produces commensurate with the number of Jews that come. More Jews that come to Erit Israel, the more the land produces. You can't explain it to me logically, but this is a miracle happening in front of our days. And this is a divine wink for all of us to recognize this miracle. But on the other hand, we have to appreciate and realize that it doesn't come from us. It comes from him. And we are so proud and try so hard for this perfect harmony between on the one hand his providing for us and our being the ones who participate in this prophecy. Wow. Ashenu, how precious is our Torah. How real of are all these metaphors that the rabbis tell us? The rocks were arguing, the mountains were arguing, everyone is true. As it says in the sixth chapter of of chapter 6, Mishna 2. The Mishna says that every day in the levy every day a heavenly voice goes out from Senai and says whoa unfortunate are those who don't appreciate Torah. How privileged are those who do appreciate Torah. Every time we study Torah, we should try and believe me it does come. After the years, you will hear the voice from heaven. Shabbat shalom to all.