This week’s Torah portion, “Behar,” means “on Mount [Sinai]” and is found in Leviticus 25:1.  It is, at this time on Mount Sinai, that G-d is telling Moses about the laws of the Sabbatical year and the Jubilee year.  The Sabbatical year occurs every 7th year when all planting and harvesting on the land ceases.  During the Sabbatical year, the produce is free for the taking by all, man and animal.

After 7 Sabbatical cycles occur, they are followed by a fiftieth year called the Jubilee year.  All work on the land continues to cease and all of the  indentured servants are set free and all ancestral lands that have been sold revert to their original owners.  This portion also contains laws governing the sale of lands, and the prohibitions against committing fraud and usury.

Bechukotai (“In My Laws”) is the final Torah portion in the Book of Leviticus. It begins describing blessings that follow obedience to God’s laws and curses that come with desecration of them.  The curses, called tochacha (rebuke), warn of the suffering that will occur for the failure to honor the covenant with G-d.  This section ends with G-d’s promise that He will not completely abandon the Israelites or break the covenant with their forefathers.

• Does the Shmita (Sabbatical year) and the Yovel (Jubilee year) have any relevance for us today, on our Spiritual Journey?

• As a double portion, how does the message of Behar relate to Bechikotai?

• Join us for Kabbalat Shabbat and let’s get into it!

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