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May 11, 2023
This week we are finishing the Book of Leviticus with a double Torah portion: Parashat Behar-Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1-27:34), which instructs us that divine blessings of rain and sun will turn to curses if we do not do our part in stewarding God's earth properly.
The text insists that it is our choice. And it seems to doubt that we will make the choice wisely.
Whereas the actual details of the sabbatical and jubilee years are enormously complicated, and the impact they would have on the soil and the economy is highly debatable, and we don't even know if it would be possible to follow their instructions, we can still learn from the radical principle that seems to underlie those demands:
... for the Mine is the land [ha'aretz, which in the Torah means not only the Promised Landl but also the Earth—a second meaning that I believe we are meant to hear at this juncture]; you are sojourning [gerim] settlers with Me. And in all the land of your holdings, you shall allow a redemption for the land (Leviticus 25:23-24.)
Human beings may hold onto the Land/Earth physically. Yet, we are here on earth for such a short time, and matters of deeds and estates are so complicated, and subject to innumerable vicissitudes, that the notion of permanent ownership is quite absurd, especially when viewed from the perspective of eternity. When our days walking the earth are complete, we will return to the earth, become part of it. But own it? Be its master? Impossible.
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