How Do You Jubilee?

Parshat BeHar
Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2

Moses speaks to the Israelites about some laws that are to take effect in the land that God will give them.

For six years, the people will be permitted to plant and harvest from their fields and vineyards.  But the seventh year is to be a year of complete rest for the land.  In the seventh year, the Israelites will not be permitted to work their fields, but they will be allowed to gather and to share whatever the land produces.  God assures the people that in the year before the Sabbatical year, there will be a bountiful harvest so that there will be sufficient food to tide them over until the harvest of the eighth year.

The Israelites are told to count seven times seven years - a total of forty-nine - and to mark the arrival of the fiftieth year with a blast of the horn on the Day of Atonement.  The fiftieth year is to be a Jubilee, a year of release for the land and all its inhabitants.

In the fiftieth year, the land is to lie fallow, property is to revert to its original owner, and all Hebrew slaves are to be freed.  Houses in walled cities are exempt from this regulation - they can be redeemed for only one year after their sale.  The houses of the Levites are to be redeemable forever.

The Israelites are to make special effort to redeem land or persons who have been forced to sell their holdings or bind themselves into slavery.  Israelite slaves are to be treated as hired laborers and are to be freed in the Jubilee year, whereas non-Israelite slaves are seen as property - they are not subject to the laws of the Jubilee year.

The portion concludes with a reminder to the people not to set up or worship idols, but to keep God's Sabbaths.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• This portion details two different ways of marking significant amounts of time, both of which serve to be a "reset" - for the land and also for the people.  Why do you think it is important to designate time to let the land rest? 
• This portion talks about the Jubilee year, which occurs every fifty years as a way for the land and for its inhabitants to be "released" and to rest.  What are ways you create a fresh restart for yourself?  Are there other times of the year that are set aside as a Jewish way to give yourself a reset or a new beginning?

You won't want to miss this week's Torah cartoon:

Sacred People, Sacred Time

Parshat Emor
Leviticus 21:1 - 24:23

Synopsis:
Moses is to inform the priests of the special rules which they must obey.  The priests are to refrain from coming into contact with a corpse, they are not to shave smooth any parts of their heads, and they are forbidden to marry a divorced woman. The priests are to be scrupulous as they carry out their duties. Any priest who has a physical defect or is ritually unclean is forbidden to offer sacrifices to God. So, too, the Israelites are to take care to bring blemish free offerings to God. No animal less than eight days old is acceptable as a sacrifice and no animal shall be slaughtered on the same day as its young.

Then Moses speaks to all the people about the holy days in the year. Apart from the Sabbath, which occurs every seven days, the Israelites are to observe the Feast of Unleavened Bread and, seven weeks later, a celebration of the harvest.

The first day of the seventh month, the people are to mark as a sacred occasion with loud blasts and the tenth day of the same month shall e a Day of Atonement.

The fifteenth day of the seventh month is the Feast of Booths. This holiday is to be observed for seven days, and the people are to mark the eighth day with a special sacrifice. On all of these holidays, the Israelites are told not to work at their occupations, and special observances are prescribed.

Moses further reminds the Israelites to bring clear olive oil for the regular lighting of the lamps in the Tent of Meeting. He then instructs them in the baking and displaying of the twelve loaves of display bread for the altar.

The portion concludes by describing an incident wherein a man born of an Israelite woman and an Egyptian man fights with another man born of two Israelite parents. The half-Israelite blasphemes God's name in the course of a fight. God tells Moses that the man is to be stoned to death as punishment. So Moses tells the Israelites of the penalty for blaspheming God or pronouncing God's name, and also of the rules by which restitution is to be made for crimes.

Synopsis courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• The beginning of this week's portion describes the special rules for those people who are the priests. Why might they need to act different than the rest of the people? Do you think it would be difficult to be treated so differently in order to have such a special position among the Israelites?
• Part of this parsha explains the observance of Passover, Shavuot and Sukkot and includes a reminder to leave corners of the fields untouched for the poor. What does this kind of action have to do with these holidays?
• How do you think your holiday celebrations are the same as in biblical times? How do you think they are different?
• It’s difficult to imagine that Jews have been observing and celebrating holidays such as Shabbat, Pesach, Shavuot, Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, and Sukkot for thousands of years. Why do you think these holiday celebrations have survived for so long?
• What is your favorite Jewish holiday? What is it about that holiday that makes it so special for you?

And now... time for your favorite Torah cartoon:

Rules for Living

Parshat Kedoshim (Leviticus 19:1 - 20:27)

In this portion, God tells Moses to instruct the entire Israelite community in the laws of holiness. The Israelites are to be holy because God is holy. Therefore, they are to observe the commandments and the laws of the sacrifices. They are to provide for the poor and the stranger, leaving the edges of the fields unharvested and the fallen fruits of their vineyards ungleaned, so that the needy can come and gather food.

The Israelites are told not to insult the deaf or place a stumbling block before the blind and to show respect for the elderly. They are to be fair in judgment and in commerce and they are not to bear a grudge. Moses tells them further to love their neighbors as themselves and to love the strangers in their midst, for the Israelites were strangers themselves in the land of Egypt.

The Israelites are not to mix different species of cattle or seed and they are not to wear clothes made from a mixture of two kinds of material.

Moses also reviews the prohibited sexual relations and the punishments for these.

All these laws the Israelites are to observe so that they may be holy to God, Who has set them apart from other peoples, freed them from slavery in Egypt, and chosen them as God's people.

Synopses courtesy of Teaching Torah, by Sorel Goldberg Loeb and Barbara Binder Kadden

For your Shabbat table:

• What are some holy things that your family can do together that you could not do by yourself? How can doing these things together bring you closer to God?
• God tells us that we are not to place a stumbling block before the blind.  What does this mean to you?  In what ways can you plan so as to assist those around you who might have a disability of some sort?
• In Parshat Kedoshim, we are told to respect the elderly. What does it mean to respect someone? How is it different from "honor"? Why do you think the Torah uses both these words? What word would you use to describe the ideal relationship between a child and a parent? Why do you think the Torah does not use the word "love"?

And now.. time for some cartoon Torah.