| And G-d said to Moses on Mount Sinai, saying: | Vayedabeir Hashem el Moshe behar sinai leimor: | וַיְדַבֵּר ה’ אֶל־מֹשֶׁה בְּהַר סִינַי לֵאמֹר׃ |
Torah Thoughts
In Parashat Behar, G-d requires the people of Israel to observe the Year of Jubilee! This extraordinary edict ensures that no family is ever forever divested of its land, and that no person is a slave for life. Given that the primary source of wealth at the time was land, these two facts, along with the complete forgiveness of debts (excepts a Jew’s debts to a foreigner) meant that there was no cycle of poverty: there was complete do-over every 50 years!
This week’s parsha noshes illustrate the cycle of years: letting the land lie fallow every seven years (the year of shmita), and the year of jubilee on the 50th year: 7 cycles of 7 years, and then an extra year for Jubilee.