Behar – Page 4 – Peninim on the Torah

ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלקיך

Each of you shall not aggrieve his fellow, and you shall fear your G-d. (25:17)

Chazal teach that, unlike the previous pasuk (14), “Do not aggrieve one another,” which refers to business conduct, this pasuk addresses the prohibition of onoas devarim, hurting people with words. Regrettably, too many ways exist in which we knowingly and unknowingly transgress this sin. Who does not know the meaning of the term shtoch, sticking a needle into a person? Sadly, a needle comprised of words is ultimately more painful, and the pain endurance longer, than a needle of steel. Reminding people of their earlier infractions or other embarrassing events in their past, be it their own or that of…

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וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5774, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished, and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him. (25:35)

Rashi explains vehechezakta bo, “you shall strengthen him,” to mean that, if one sees a decline in his fellow’s business, if he sees that the money does not flow in his home as it once used to, he should step in and slow the descent, helping him to regain his financial footing. It is that much more difficult once the fall has gone too far. Rashi compares this to a donkey who is struggling with a heavy load. As long as the donkey is erect, albeit struggling, one person can support him. Once the donkey has fallen to the ground,…

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וכי תמכרו ממכר לעמיתך או קנה מיד עמיתך אל תונו איש את אחיו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Behar

If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy anything from your neighbor, you should not defraud one another. (25:14)

The Talmud Bava Basra 87b details a number of fraudulent practices which were employed by less-than-honest businessmen who would cheat their customers. Rabbi Yochanan ben Zakai hesitated publicizing these practices, explaining that he was confronted with a moral dilemma. If he would lecture, it was quite possible that some of the listeners who were themselves dishonest might learn new methods for defrauding others. On the other hand, if he did not lecture, the cheaters would posit that the scholars were naïve to the ways of the world and unaware of the various ploys for cheating others. One wonders why it…

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והארץ לא תימכר לצמיתות כי לי הארץ כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Behar

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; For you are sojourners and residents with Me. (25:23)

One who delves into the mitzvos of Shemittah and Yoveil will infer that their motif is to teach man that he lacks ownership of the land – and, for that matter, of anything. Man is temporary; life is as fleeting as the moment. We are here by the grace of G-d, and we had better live our lives like that. The Torah wants us to acknowledge that L’Hashem ha’aretz u’meloah, teival v’yoshvei vah, “To Hashem (belongs) the earth and its fullness, the inhabited land and those who dwell in it” (Tehillim 24:1). Man walks the earth thinking that it is…

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וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5773, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him. (25:35)

Tzedakah, which is generally translated as charity, means much more than exhibiting one’s generosity towards his fellowman. It is not simply the means for imparting a favor; it is justice, derived from the word tzedek. In other words, “I” have, so, therefore, “you” must also have. The world was created with tzedek, justice, so that all are equal. The fact that some have more than others behooves them to share with others. After all, it is only right. The value which the benefactor accrues far exceeds his contribution, so great is the reward for giving the tzedakah. Tzedakah does not…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Behar

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

Rashi interprets the pasuk as an enjoinment against onoaas devarim, verbal harassment. Ridiculing someone can have an enduring effect upon his personality development. The humiliation and scorn one is subject to at the hands of others can damage his psyche, impairing his self-esteem and his ability to relate to others. Humiliation does not only result from words; it can also be the consequence of an intentional snub. There is nothing as demeaning as being ignored by others, so that one feels as if he does not exist in their eyes. While the individual should not be obsessed with his ego,…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5772, Behar

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

If one were to go to a great tzaddik and receive a blessing for success and Divine assistance in all of his endeavors, it would be incredible! Who would not do anything to receive such a guarantee? As Horav Uri Kelerman, z.l., was wont to say, the opportunity is there for all of us – all of the time. Indeed, we recite the pasuk daily: “Baruch ha’gever asher yivtach b’Hashem, v’hayah Hashem mivtacho”, “Blessed is the man who trusts in Hashem and Hashem is his source of trust.” The pasuk clearly states that one who has bitachon is blessed. What…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Behar

If you will say: “What will we eat in the seventh year?”… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year. (25:20,21)

Shemittah is a mitzvah which infuses emunah and bitachon, faith and trust, in a Jew. Each Shemittah (Sabbatical year), a Jew turns his back on what seems to be the source of his sustenance, and he does not work his field for an entire year. Living through a Shemittah provides one with an incredible test of his faith in Hashem. One who emerges triumphant from this test has indeed strengthened his emunah in the Almighty. Imagine an individual walking off the job that has been his source of support for the past six years, saying, “I am not working this…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished with you and is sold to you; you shall not work him with slave labor…you shall not subjugate him through hard labor. (25:39,43)

The Torah includes topics which some members of contemporary society might feel are no longer pertinent. They are wrong. Every word of the Torah has relevance and application today, as it did then. In his volume of divrei Torah from the Rosh Yeshivah, Horav Avraham Pam, zl, Rabbi Sholom Smith illustrates how Rav Pam applied the laws concerning eved Ivri, the Jewish bondsman to contemporary issues. There are two circumstances in which a Jew would sell himself as a slave to another Jew. In Parashas Mishpatim (Shemos 22:2), the Torah addresses the eved who is nimkar b’geneivaso, “he shall be…

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Rabbi L. Scheinbaum In 5771, Behar

If your brother becomes impoverished. (25:39)

Everyone wants to be charitable, to share with those who are less fortunate than he is. It is one of those mitzvos that make us feel good. After all, what could be wrong with helping another Jew? Perhaps that is the first mistake: “helping another Jew.” Tzedakah, popularly known as charity, is not just about helping someone else, but rather about feeling that person’s pain. When one “helps,” he is still separated from the beneficiary. He is fine, but the “other guy” is in need. True tzedakah does not distinguish between “me” and “him;” “us” and “them.” Tzedakah binds the…

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ולא תונו איש את עמיתו ויראת מאלקיך

Each of you shall not aggrieve his fellow, and you shall fear your G-d. (25:17)

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

If your brother becomes impoverished, and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him. (25:35)

וכי תמכרו ממכר לעמיתך או קנה מיד עמיתך אל תונו איש את אחיו

If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy anything from your neighbor, you should not defraud one another. (25:14)

והארץ לא תימכר לצמיתות כי לי הארץ כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי

The land shall not be sold in perpetuity, for the land is Mine; For you are sojourners and residents with Me. (25:23)

וכי ימוך אחיך ומטה ידו עמך והחזקת בו

If your brother becomes impoverished and his means falter in your proximity, you shall strengthen him. (25:35)

“Do not harass one another.” (25:17)

“If you will say, what will we eat in the seventh year?… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year.”(25:20-21)

If you will say: “What will we eat in the seventh year?”… I will ordain My blessing for you in the sixth year. (25:20,21)

If your brother becomes impoverished with you and is sold to you; you shall not work him with slave labor…you shall not subjugate him through hard labor. (25:39,43)

If your brother becomes impoverished. (25:39)

YEARS

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