Yovel

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1. Navot's Vineyard (Part 3)

   Navot's Refusal and its Motives

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Despite Ahav’s generous offer, Navot refuses to sell his vineyard. The narrative describes Ahav’s attempt to ignore the real reason behind Navot’s refusal and Izevel describes it as petty. In fact, Navot’s refusal is based on the value of preserving the patriarchal inheritance which was viewed not as an asset with monetary value, but rather as part of a social structure in which the individual was connected to his family.

2. The Unique Perspective of Parashat Behar

   Rabbi Amnon Bazak

   What links Shmitta with Mt. Sinai? This lesson will discuss the unique perspective of Parashat Behar on a number of mitzvot that are also discussed elsewhere in the Torah.

3. Parshat Emor

   Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 29 minutes

   There are three main instances in the Torah where we are commanded to count towards a particular event: counting seven days in the process from impurity to purity, counting 50 years to yovel, and counting the omer (in our parsha). By examining these three mitzvot we can understand the beauty and uniqueness of the mitzvah of counting, whereby the Torah teaches us important lessons by involving us not only in the ultimate goal but in the process as well. 

4. You Shall Dwell in the Land in Security

   Rabbi Yair Kahn

   The Torah begins the parsha with the laws of Shmitta, noting that they were given at Har Sinai. This prompts the commentators to ask the famous question: “Mah inyan shemitta etzel Har Sinai?” Why is shemitta found alongside Har Sinai? By examining the nature of the laws of shemitta and yovel, we can understand that they describe a religious ideal of human faith reciprocated by divine providence. They contain a promise of a relationship between God and Am Yisrael. Shemitta and yovel are more than just commandments – they are a context for attaining the blessings of the covenant of Sinai. 

5. You Shall Dwell in the Land in Security (Audio)

   Rabbi Yair Kahn | 11 minutes

   The Torah begins the parsha with the laws of Shmitta, noting that they were given at Har Sinai. This prompts the commentators to ask the famous question: “Mah inyan shemitta etzel Har Sinai?” Why is shemitta found alongside Har Sinai? By examining the nature of the laws of shemitta and yovel, we can understand that they describe a religious ideal of human faith reciprocated by divine providence. They contain a promise of a relationship between God and Am Yisrael. Shemitta and yovel are more than just commandments – they are a context for attaining the blessings of the covenant of Sinai. 

6. Four Mitzvot of Counting

   Rabbi Elchanan Samet

   Are all the instances of counting in the Torah similar? What are the differences between each  commandment to count, and what are the significances of these differences? 

7. The Redemption of the Field of Hanamel

   Rabbi David Sabato

   Yirmiyahu is commanded by God to buy the land of his cousin, Hanamel, despite the fact that the destruction is imminent. At the beginning of the story, Yirmiyahu acted as a prophet – a messenger of God who fulfills His word without hesitation. But after the fulfillment of the words of the prophecy in the presence of all the people, Yirmiyahu turns to God as a person with a turbulent prayer and challenges God.

   Yirmiyahu's objection does not refer to the contrast between the real situation and the utopian prophecy. This is a theological objection that focuses on a contradiction in God's ways, for the prophecy of consolation contradicts the entire course of Yirmiyahu's prophecies from the beginning of his path as a prophet until the present. According to the principles of reward and punishment established by God, calamity must now befall the people; why then does he speak of redemption and consolation? The focus of the prayer is not found in the practical unreasonableness, but rather in the theological aspect of the deed, and this is an objection against God's ways of governance.

   God’s response to Yirmiyahu stresses that He is not only the Maker of heaven and earth, but also the God of all flesh, and therefore, God has the power to turn the hearts of His people toward Him in the future and to thereby ensure the redemption.

8. Rav Medan: Sefirat HaOmer, Matan Torah, and the Yovel Year

   Rabbi David Silverberg

9. The Agricultural and Historical Significance of Sefirat HaOmer

   Rabbi Yaakov Medan

   
   The Festival of Freedom, which commemorates the unique historical event of the Exodus, must coincide with the start of the annual agricultural season - the harvest. What is the connection between the two?
   
   
   It is somewhat puzzling that while the Torah speaks directly of both aspects of Pesach - agricultural and historical - it focuses solely on the agricultural significance of Sefirat Ha-Omer and Shavuot. In fact, it is the Sages who calculate that Matan Torah took place on the selfsame day that we are commanded to offer the shtei ha- lechem. Why does the Torah not mention the historical significance of the day at all?
   
   While it is true that there is no direct mention of Shavuot as the commemoration of the revelation at Sinai, the connection is very strongly hinted at in the verses by the use of Sefirat Ha-Omer as the link between Pesach and Shavuot, as will be explained.
    

    

   Translated by Zev Jacobson

10. Behar: Finding Independence

    Rabbi David Silverberg

11. The Covenant of Bechukotai and the Mitzva of Shemitta

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    Why does the Torah depart from the chronological sequence, and suddenly introduce at the end of Sefer Vayikra commandments (specifically Shemitta and Yovel), and a covenant which had been communicated to the Jewish people much earlier? Perhaps this odd placement allows us to view these laws through the prism of the Temple and its sanctity, emphasizing that the three central elements of place, time and the individual are meaningful not only in the Temple, but everywhere.

12. The "Supplement" to Ma'amad Har Sinai

    Prof. Jonathan Grossman

    Parshiot Behar and Bechukotai contain a supplement to the covenant at Sinai, which, alongside the deep, spiritual motivation and voluntarism associated with entering into a covenant with the Almighty, adds the reward and punishment, which both encourage and threaten, seeking to preserve the integrity of this special covenant. If parashat Mishpatim presents the side of "ahavat Hashem," parashat Bechukotai adds "yir'at Hashem," without which the covenant is not complete.

13. The Prohibitions of Ona’ah, Neshekh, and Ribit

    Rabbi Dr. Yoel Bin Nun

    Parashat Behar opens with the words, “And the Lord spoke to Moshe at Mount Sinai, saying…” and goes on to set forth the mitzvot of shemitta and yovel. This prompts Rashi’s famous question – what is the connection between shemitta and Mount Sinai? – and his response – that just as these mitzvot, in all their detail, were given at Mount Sinai, so were all the other mitzvot, in all their detail. Unfortunately, in our time, the mitzvot of shemitta and yovel are observed in very minor, almost negligible form. On the other hand, there are other mitzvot mentioned in our parasha – the prohibitions on ona’ah, neshekh, and ribit – which apply at all times and are central pillars of Torah-based ethics. They are the focus of this article.

14. Erev Shabbat Behar-Behukkotai: The Sabbatical Year and Social Justice

    Rabbi Jonathan Snowbell | 20 minutes

    What is the 50-year Yovel counting cycle about? The commandment of counting the 50 yeras helps guide us toward the implementation of freedom and equality for all - not only in the Sabbatical (Seventh "Shemitta" year) and Yovel (Jubilee) year, when the Torah commands that land and people shall be released, but that throughout the cycle, we should be helping people to stand on their own two feet.  

    What is important about he Shemitta and Yovel cycle is not only whether the land lies fallow, but whether the social justice system behind the "Shabbat of the years" is being fulfilled. If that system is failing to be fulfilled, mass exile will be the consequence (as detailed in Yirmiahu's castigating those who freed the slaves -but then immediately forced them to return).

    It is only on the basis of social justice that the Mikdash and its significance can survive - and we can dream of the restoration of Jerusalem's former glory only if we build a just and kind society.

15. The Teshuva Revolution

    Part 2

    Rabbi Tzvi Sinensky

    Consistent with the transition detailed from a Temple-based Judaism to a Torah-centered lifestyle, the emphasis in this chapter is decidedly not on the Temple service. Many, if not all, of the practices omitted in this chapter bear significant connections to the Temple service. Ezra’s revolution, which seeks to reimagine Jewish life in the aftermath of the destruction of the First Commonwealth, envisions an observance of the holidays that does not revolve around the sacrificial service.

    Putting Esther and Nehemya together, it appears that repairing the Jewish People’s social fabric was a major point of emphasis for both post-exilic communities. It is almost as if Tanakh implies that Jews of Persia and Israel sought to “undo” the sins of previous generations, in which the wealthy trampled upon the poor and there were irreparable divisions between the different classes of society. Both Esther and Nehemya worked to create greater unity by emphasizing the importance of generosity at times of communal celebration, so that no one would feel excluded.

    The extraordinary moment of solidarity around the celebration of Sukkot – with all the difficulties it raises regarding contemporary observance of that holiday - coupled with the dramatic impact of the Torah reading ceremony just a few days earlier, combines to make the events of Nehemya chapter eight some of the most climactic known to biblical history.

16. Ezra & Nehemia Celebrate Jerusalem's Jubilee

    Tanach Study

    Shani Taragin | Hour and 12 minutes

    Through an exploration Sefer Nehemia—textual analysis as well as its context and chronological setting, we can understand the challenges of the time and the religious message it carries with it through Shivat Tzion and the rebuilding of Jerusalem. 

    Courtesy of www.tanachstudy.com

17. Why Does Land Have To Rest?

    Parshat Behar

    Rabbi David Fohrman |

    We talked last week about seeing shabbat in different worlds. But how do we understand, conceptually, what this means? In this week's video, we look at Pesach, Shmita and Yovel and ask, where do we see Shabbat, and why does it matter?

     

     

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18. Family Reconciliation

    Rabbi Ben-Tzion Spitz