The Covenant of Bechukotai and the Mitzva of Shemitta
PARASHOT BEHAR-BECHUKOTAI
The Covenant of Bechukotai and the Mitzva of Shemitta
By Rav Yonatan Grossman
This year, we read the parashot of Behar and Bechukotai on the same Shabbat. Careful scrutiny of both sections
reveals that they are in fact closely intertwined.
Parashat Behar opens by informing us where it was conveyed: "God spoke to Moshe
AT HAR SINAI, saying..." (Vayikra 25:1).
Many commentaries address this emphasis on location. Rashi, for example, derives from this
verse that all of the commandments and their related details were communicated
by God to Moshe at Har Sinai; Ramban disagrees.
The Rashbam explains "at Har Sinai" to mean "before the erection of the
Tabernacle." According to the
straightforward reading of the text, Rashbam understands that the Torah sections
dealing with the Shemitta and Yovel (the sabbatical year and the jubilee year)
mentioned here were actually transmitted to Moshe at Har Sinai, before the
remainder of the book of Vayikra was communicated to him. We shall later return to this point.
In the parasha of Bechukotai we read of the blessings that the Jewish people
will merit "if you follow My decrees and observe My commandments to fulfill
them," and in contrast, the curses that will transpire "if you will not listen
to Me and will not fulfill all of these commandments." The ensuing maledictions revolve
around the number seven:
"And if you will not listen to Me, I will chastise you sevenfold for your
transgressions." (26:18)
"And if you walk with Me with indifference and will not hearken to Me, I will
strike you sevenfold according to your transgressions." (26:21)
"I will also strike you sevenfold for your transgressions." (26:24, 26:28)
These recurring expressions which stress the number seven require some
explanation. Why does the Torah
emphatically connect the curses to the number seven? Why do these curses strike
in multiples of seven and why does the Torah have to repeat this fact over and
over? This point directs us to the
commandments of Parashat Behar, which immediately precede the blessings and
curses. The commandments of Behar
are also arranged in multiples of seven.
The Shemitta, for instance, is to be fulfilled every seventh year: "In
the seventh year there shall be a year of complete rest for the land, a shabbat
to God. Do not plant your field nor
prune your vineyard" (25:4). The
commandment of Yovel is even more pronounced: "You shall count seven sabbatical
years, seven cycles of seven years.
These seven sabbatical years shall equal forty-nine years. You shall sound a blast of the shofar
in the seventh month..." (25:8-9).
In other words, the Yovel year is to be inaugurated by the shofar in the seventh
month, after a count of seven times seven years.
The remaining commandments of Parashat Behar also deal, in one way or
another, with these central observances of Shemitta and Yovel.
In light of this fact, we may suggest that the blessings and curses in Parashat
Bechukotai, which immediately follow these laws, are in fact referring
specifically to the observance of Shemitta and Yovel. If the Jewish nation refrains from
agricultural pursuits during the Shemitta year, then they will merit the
blessings; if not, then the curses will ensue.
Therefore, the tokhecha (reproof, i.e. the section of the curses)
emphasizes the number seven over and over.
This is the fundamental digit for the counting of the seventh year the
Shemitta, and the fiftieth year of the Yovel which occurs after seven countings
of seven years.
According to this reading, the blessings and curses do not address the general
issue of Torah observance, but rather the specific mitzvot of Shemitta and
Yovel. Although the number seven which is common to both sections is not
sufficient to prove this connection, additional points which we will now examine
reinforce this interpretation.
After God warns the people that exile will follow if they will not listen to Him
and will stray with indifference, the verse states:
"I will scatter you among the nations and will unsheathe the sword to pursue
you. Your land will be desolate and
your cities in ruins. The land shall
be appeased for its sabbaths while it is desolate and you are in the land of
your enemies; the land shall rest and have appeasement for its sabbaths. All the days of its desolation it
shall be at rest, according to the rest that it did not enjoy while you dwelt in
it." (26:33-35)
Here it is abundantly clear that the curses at least the punishment of exile
are meted out for the non-observance of the Shemitta. Since the Jewish people failed to
observe this obligation while they dwelt in their land, they must suffer exile
and will therefore cease working the land against their will. Similarly, the Torah later states:
"The land will be abandoned of them and will be appeased of its sabbaths in
desolation. The people, too, shall
be forgiven their transgression" (26:43).
It is difficult to maintain that the blessings and curses address all of
the mitzvot, and that the Shemitta is here stated as an arbitrary example. It seems much more plausible that the
curse, in fact, specifically address the mitzva of Shemitta.
An additional point which lends credence to the assumption that the blessings
and curses refer specifically to the observance or non-observance of the mitzvot
of Shemitta and Yovel is one which we mentioned at the outset: the setting in
which they were communicated. As is
well known, the book of Vayikra was transmitted to Moshe in the Tabernacle, as
is clearly stated at its outset: "God called Moshe and spoke to him in the
Tabernacle, saying..." (Vayikra 1:1).
In contrast, the beginning of Behar, which introduces the mitzvot of
Shemitta and Yovel (at least according to the Rashbam's reading, which we
earlier adopted), indicates that the communication took place earlier: "God
spoke to Moshe at Har Sinai, saying..."
In other words, the parasha deals with a series of things that were
transmitted to Moshe while the people were still encamped at Har Sinai.
If in fact the Torah relates here a collection of items that were actually
communicated at an earlier date at Har Sinai, then we must determine the extent
of this collection. Where does it
end and when is the chronological order resumed?
The concluding verse of the blessings and curses provides the answer to
this question: "These are the decrees, laws and observances which God concluded
between Himself and Bnei Yisrael at Har Sinai, by Moshe's hand" (26:46). In other words, what we have here is
a complete unit that was transmitted to Moshe at Har Sinai, and for whatever
reason was recorded at the conclusion of the book of Vayikra. This unit includes the Shemitta and
Yovel as well as the blessings and the curses, which are here recorded as the
direct consequence of Israel's observance or non-observance of these laws.
The obvious question which arises is: why does the Torah depart from the
chronological sequence, and suddenly introduce at the end of Sefer Vayikra
commandments and a covenant which had been communicated to the Jewish people
much earlier? Rabbi Avraham Ibn Ezra
provides an answer at the beginning of Parashat Behar (25:1):
"The Torah is not necessarily arranged chronologically. This section in fact precedes the
parasha of Vayikra and all the sections that follow it... The reason for its
mention here is to connect the various conditions for dwelling in the land [of
Israel]. Just as it was stated
concerning the forbidden sexual unions that their non-observance would lead to
the land spewing the people out, so too was it stated concerning the observance
of the Shemitta."
Ibn Ezra understands that the Torah delayed mentioning the commandments of
Shemitta and Yovel as well as the blessings and curses until now, in order to
establish a connection with the section dealing with sexual immorality. Here also, the Torah states that
non-observance will lead to being cast out of the land (see Vayikra 18:28,
20:22), just as exile is promised for failing to observe Shemitta and Yovel.
I would like to adopt the view of Ibn Ezra but to apply it elsewhere. Sefer
Vayikra, especially in its first half, deals with the various aspects of
the Temple: the laws of sacrifice, the kohanim, tum'a and tahara, etc. Even seemingly unrelated topics are
viewed through the prism of the Temple and its sanctity. The sanctity of time, for example, is
presented in the context of the Kohen Gadol's service on Yom Kippur. The sanctity of humanity is presented
in the context of the service of the kohanim in the Temple. In other words, both the sanctity of
time and that of man are presented against the backdrop of the sanctity of place
the Temple!
Lest a person incorrectly assume that the service of the Deity is to be confined
to the "place which God shall choose," the second half of Vayikra emphasizes
that sanctity is relevant in all places.
The behavior of a servant of God is to be conditioned by sanctity even
while he is in his home and not directly present in the precincts of the Temple. The Torah therefore emphasizes that
the three central elements of place, time and the individual are meaningful not
only in the Temple, but everywhere.
1. Sanctity of Persons:
Sefer Vayikra relates much information about the election of the kohanim and
their unique responsibilities, but it goes on to state, "Be holy" (19:2), as an
imperative addressing all of the people.
The kohanim may have unique laws which govern permitted marriages (such
as the disqualification of a divorcee, etc.), but the rest of the people are
also commanded to desist from sexually immoral practices, wherever they may lie. (This point was stressed by the Ibn
Ezra.) The kohanim may have been
chosen to serve God in the precincts of the Temple, but there is a similar
notion of sanctity that can apply to all people who are prepared to observe the
dictates of the Torah. This in fact
explains the common expressions that occur in commands addressed to the kohanim
as well as to the people.
2. Sanctity of Time:
Although we may already have read about the service of the Kohen Gadol on Yom
Kippur (18:1-34), we later read about all of the holidays which are to be
designated as "holy gatherings" on which labor is to be curtailed (23:1-44). The sanctity of time is thus expanded
beyond the precincts of the Temple to embrace the world at large.
3. Sanctity of Place:
Now, at the very conclusion of Sefer Vayikra, the Torah re-emphasizes this in a
clear and direct manner by introducing the laws of the Shemitta and Yovel. Here the discussion concerns the
sanctity of place, and necessitates specific conduct. There may be a specific place where
God causes His presence to be manifest, but by the same token "the whole earth
is Mine." Through these laws, every
tiller of the land must realize that the entire world belongs to God and that by
His will alone it is given to man to work it and to derive sustenance. When the nation as a whole desists
from working the land every seventh year, it indicates God's ownership of the
whole earth, and not only the place of the Temple where His presence is
manifest.
The mitzvot of Shemitta and Yovel, together with the blessings and curses that
relate to them, are recorded here even though they were transmitted at Har
Sinai. This is in order to emphasize the above point at the conclusion of the
book which deals more than any other with service of God in His Temple. The commandments are placed upon the
Jew wherever he may be; he desists from working the earth because "the whole
earth is Mine."