Parshas Behar 5765

Every seventh year in Israel is called the Shemittah year, or the Sabbatical year. This means that all Jewish-owned land in Israel may not be sown, planted, or harvested, for the entire year. Although a person in an agriculturally dependent society could hardly be blamed for fearing the loss of income for an entire year, the Torah promises that the sixth year would produce an abundance of food to carry them through the eighth year.

After every seven Shemittah years, the fiftieth year is called the Jubilee year. The laws of Shemittah would be applicable then, too, and the Torah promises that the forty-eighth year would produce enough for both the Shemittah and Jubilee years.

During the Jubilee year, a person was also obligated to free all his Hebrew slaves, and to return real estate that was purchased since the last Jubilee year to its original owner, although the Torah does make certain exceptions. One of the reasons for the mitzvah of Shemittah was to allow the people an opportunity to pursue spiritual goals, and not become totally lost in the material pursuits of the world. During the year of Shemittah a person would be able to spend more time in Torah study and prayer.

Another reason for the Shemittah was to teach the people that one's income comes from G-d and is not merely the fruits of one's own labor. Although the nature of the world is such that man must expend efforts in order to enjoy the benefits, we must remember that our success and failure is not tied exclusively to the amount of efforts that we expend. By not working the whole year, yet still not suffering any major loss of income, we learn a great lesson in developing trust in G-d.

Trust in G-d is also the source of other prohibitions in the portion. One must not charge interest to a fellow Jew. It is also forbidden to pay interest to a fellow Jew. A person might think that if he lends his money to others without charging interest he will lose many opportunities for investments and other financial gain. The Torah also warns us not to take unfair advantage of others in business by overcharging them. We must realize that our income is a gift from G-d and we must not be greedy to gain more than what we are supposed to have. G-d can provide enough for everyone without our having to resort to deceptive and unfair measures.

"A man shall not aggrieve his fellow..." (Lev. 25:17)

The Alter of Slabodka spent a summer in Tel Aviv, where he would say a short class after Friday night services for the people in the neighborhood. Once the class went a little longer than usual, and the Rav's wife peeked in and whispered, "Their wives are waiting for them!"

The Alter immediately stopped speaking.

"Don't worry," one young man protested, "Our wives won't mind if we're a little late."

But the Alter would not listen. "First of all," he asked the student, "how do you know that? You have no right to take your time at your wife's expense. And furthermore, your wives are probably hungry, and I have no right to make them suffer."

Did You Know...

A Jew may not charge or pay interest to a fellow Jew for a loan. One may also not lend money to a friend, interest-free, and then ask the borrower for a favor that he would otherwise not have asked for, as that, too, is considered interest. If, however, the borrower would do the favor anyway, it is not connected to the loan and is permitted.

One may not use his (Jewish) friend's credit card to purchase something, and then make the payments plus interest directly to the bank, since it is considered as if the friend borrowed the money and he is paying interest to the friend.