SEDRA : Behar Hertz Chumash p. 521 Leviticus Chap. 25

This week's Sedra is generously sponsored by Meier Heilbrunn.

SYNOPSIS:

The cycle of Sacred seasons begun in Sedra Emor is now completed with the system of the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee.
After taking possession of the land of Israel, the Israelites were to observe every seventh year as a Shemittah (Sabbath) year for the land. The land was to lie fallow; the fields were not to be sown, the vineyards not pruned and no reaping (of produce that grew by itself) was to take place. The land is not man's absolute possession : "...for the land is Mine; for you are strangers and settlers with Me." (verse 23). The land belongs to G-d, and is held in trust for His purposes.
Every fiftieth year would be Yovel (Jubilee) and would be proclaimed on Yom Kippur. During this year too, the land could not be sown. In addition all Hebrew slaves were to be set free and all lands previously sold were to revert back to the original possessors. The price of land was based on the number of years remaining till the Yovel. Land that was sold because of its owner's poverty could (should) be redeemed by a relative or by the original owner himself.
A house in a walled city could be redeemed within one year of sale. After one year it became the permanent possession of the buyer. Houses in villages and in the cities of the Levites, however, could not be sold in perpetuity, but reverted to the original owner in the Yovel year.
One should lend money to an indigent fellow Jew without charging him interest. If a poor Jew was forced to sell himself into servitude (a form of insolvency) his Jewish master must treat him with respect and consider his rights - as if he were a hired servant. After six years he may go free; but if he insists on remaining in servitude he cannot be kept beyond the Yovel. The Jew could (should) be redeemed by a relative by reimbursing the master a sum based on the number of years remaining until the Yovel.

HAPHTORAH HERTZ CHUMASH P.551 Jeremiah Chap 16 : 19

The Sedra speaks of the disasters which will be visited upon the Jewish people if they defy G-d. Jeremiah was a witness to the destruction of the Temple and the exile of his people. Here Jeremiah, acknowledging their punishment and low state, nevertheless preaches a message that : "G-d is the Hope of Israel" (17 : 14) if only Israel would turn to G-d and ask to be healed and saved.

TELL ME RABBI ..... THE SECOND AMIDAH BLESSING POWERS "GEVUROT"

In the second Amidah blessing, we extol G-d's greatness in giving life, in restoring life, in providing the necessities of life. We mention His awesome powers over all creation, in conformity with the verse from Psalms 29:1: "Ascribe unto the Lord glory and strength" (Megillah 17b). In doing so, we also imply the dependence of nature and all living things on G-d.
TEXT (Artscroll page 462) "You, O Lord, are mighty for ever; You revive the dead; You have the power to save. You sustain the living with lovingkindness, You revive the dead with great mercy. You support the failing, heal the sick, set free the bound, and keep faith with those that sleep in the dust. Who is like You, O Master of mighty deeds? Who resembles You - a King who puts to death and restores to life, and causes salvation to flourish? And You are sure to revive the dead. Blessed are You - the Lord, who revives the dead".
Power is generally defined in terms of one's ability to destroy. We do not so define G-d's power. We emphasise that the real might of G-d lies in His ability to give life to man and to earth, to sustain life, to heal the sick, to free the captive, to raise the fallen. We focus here on G-d's powers in terms of His acts of "loving kindness" (hesed), by helping man when he is helpless.
The Jewish concept of loving kindness ("hesed") for the dead by providing them with proper burial and treating their bodies in a dignified way is called a hesed shel emet ("a true act of loving kindness") since there can be no reciprocity attached to this selfless act. Even the High Priest, who was forbidden any contact with the dead, unable even to take part in the burial of his own parents, was required to defile himself to perform this hesed shel emet if he came upon an unburied corpse. The greatest expression of G-d's loving kindness is therefore what He can do for the dead.
The thrice-repeated emphasis in this blessing on "making the dead to live" or "reviving the dead" reflects an ancient controversy with the Samaritans, the Sadducees and others, who denied this belief (Sanhedrin 10:1; Rosh Hashanah 17a). The Talmud, however, declares that G-d will make the dead to live again (tehiat hameitim) a doctrine so central to Jewish life that its denial is deemed a heresy for which one forfeits a share in the world-to-come.
Maimonides (1135-1204) includes it among his thirteen principles of faith because, aside from creation, it is the ultimate expression of Divine power (though not necessarily the ultimate spiritual reward). If G-d was able to create (from nothing) that which had never existed, He can certainly recreate that which had already existed.
Still, the precise meaning of this principle of faith remained open to legitimate controversy.
Though a prayer for rain properly belongs in a blessing for economic sustenance and, in fact, does appear there, rain is also mentioned in this blessing as yet another example of G-d's power to "make the dead to live" - which is the central theme of this blessing. For through rain, G-d brings the barren and "dead" earth back to life and to fruitfulness.
Rain is mentioned in the passage only during the winter months (from Shemini Atzeret until the first day of Pesach) since this is the time that it is needed in Eretz Yisrael. Mention of rain is omitted during the summer months when it could ruin the crops (Sam. 1, 12: 17-18, Rashi). During the summer season, mention of "dew" (morid ha-tal) may be substituted for that of rain.