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Be-Har - Be-Hukkotai Leviticus 25:1-27:34 "…For the land is Mine, you are but strangers resident with Me." (Lev 25:23) As we conclude the book of Leviticus this week, we come to a vision of an economic system deeply rooted in a divine sense of the equal value of all people, and the fundamental impermanence of any human claim on the land. We read this week that the land given by God must be treated in accordance with God's rules, or the people will be subject to an alarming list of negative consequences, escalating in seriousness with repeated infractions. Those rules include ritual practices, business practices, and general ethics. The land is apportioned out to the people by tribe and family. It is to be left to rest every seventh year, and not actively farmed so that the land itself can have a "sabbath." Then on the fiftieth year (after seven times seven years have passed), a "Jubilee" is to be declared. (The famous line from the Liberty Bell is found here: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land, to all the inhabitants thereof…" Lev 25:10) In the Jubilee year, all recent land claims are off and everyone returns to their ancestral holdings. Whether the fifty years have made people rich or poor, the economy resets and begins again. In this way, losses and gains are not permanent. No one can get too rich, and no one can lose everything. There is explicit attention given several times to those who have gotten into dire financial straits. The people are commanded to help sustain those who are in need. The people are told that their security in the land rests on their commitment not to wrong one another. As the violence in Israel mounts, many Jews are beginning to look with despair on the choices made by the Israeli government concerning the Palestinians. Our vision of Israel as a holy land is challenged by the terrible things those on all sides of the conflict are inflicting on one another. Some feel Israel to be very endangered, and some feel the Palestinians are severely oppressed. As Jews seated safely above the fray in the United States, we tend to simplify and generalize and look for easy answers. The fact that world anti-semitism is on the rise also pushes us to defend Israel's existence, no matter how we evaluate her behavior. Those who hate do not make fine distinctions between Jews and Israelis. This portion reminds us that ancient Israel, and Israel today, and American Jews here and now are all expected to live by very high ethical standards, despite the challenges we encounter. We are not permitted to wrong one another. We are not permitted to hate one another. We are to remember at all times that we only have the power to live because God has given it. We only have the freedom to act because God has redeemed us. We no more own land on earth than we own our very souls. And we are commanded to use them according to the will of their Owner, or suffer the consequences. To some degree, the consequences mentioned here for failing to live up to the prescribed standards of fairness and compassion remind us of tragic recent headlines. "I will set My face against you, you shall be routed by your enemies, and your foes shall dominate you. You shall flee though none pursues…your strength shall be spent to no purpose, nor shall the trees of the land yield their fruit…I will loose wild beasts against you and they shall bereave you of your children…" (Lev 26:22) The blessings for living according to what is required by God include peace, fertility, abundance, security, victory, and closeness to God. "I will be your God, and you shall be My people." (Lev 26:12) God wouldn't be different, but we would be living in accordance with the covenant. We would be different. We would experience our lives as blessed. It would be simplistic to blame Israel for bringing the current miseries on itself through its own shortsightedness or wrongdoing, or to understand the political or military situation now as God's will. This dance of misery has at least two partners. The note of hope in this week's portion is that God will eventually accept our atonement, remember the covenant, and not reject or spurn us. The path of blessing and peace is never barred from God's side. Peace and reconciliation are possible, as long as we accept the requirements of the Source of our claim to the land. Rabbi
Alexis Roberts |
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