The parasha-portion of
Behar deals with the Sabbatical year = Shemittah,
when the land lies fallow and the
Jubilee= Yovel = 50th year
when in addition to the land lying fallow , land is returned to its
original owners, slaves are freed and
debts are canceled .In the middle of this section , the Torah warns us not to
transgress the negative commandments of
Ona'at ma'mon and ona'at devarim = cheating, being financially dishonest and
hurting others with words - being
insulting , using put-downs to belittle someone or even giving him bad advice
in a way he thinks you are trying to help him. God knows one's true intentions. The question
is why did the Torah choose to teach the negative commandments of Ona'at ma'mon
and ona'at devarim = financial cheating and using insulting words in the
context of the mitzvoth of the Sabbatical year= Shemittah and Yovel-
Jubilee? We can find plenty of reasons
why cheating or insulting others is bad in the context of the Man to man
relationship, so what does Shemittah and the Yovel add to our understanding?
A man of faith believes
that his livelihood is preordained by God on Rosh Hashanah and what he earns is
what he needs in order to be a faithful servant of God in this world. The
challenge is not only- not be dishonest
in ones' dealings or insulting to others in order to get ahead, but to know
that what looks like the fruits of our labor's and our efforts is actually a gift from God in order that we should we
should be able to live more spiritual
lives. The Yovel also teaches us not to become attached to our
physical possessions as ownership is a temporary state. Land reverts back to
the original owner and debts are cancelled. If we do not use our earnings in service of
God and man, we are in fact stealing from God and this is sacrilege. Dishonest
dealings and hurtful words completely disregard the role of God in the world
and are a declaration that what I have is my hard earned money and I can choose
how to spend it. This person will then find
it pretty easy to justify his dishonest dealings and hurtful words.
But the sabbatical year
= Shemittah and the Jubilee =Yovel are not just a ' mind shifts', they are
leaps of faith. The farmer has really got to give up working for a year and put
his trust in God that he will have a livelihood and be able to provide for his
family. The contrast between the man of faith putting his trust In God and the
man who feels he can only get ahead by being dishonest in his business dealings,
or by insulting people and putting them down is most apparent in the context of
Shemittah and Yovel years.
The Se'fat Emet adds
another important dimension to this connection between Shemittah and ona'at
ma'mon and de'varim = dishonest dealings and insults. Shemittah is a communal mitzvah,
not a private one. It should lead to unity and cooperation among people of a
community in order to support each other. In order to be successful and get
ahead, it is not the competitive drive, being number one, being a winner and
not a loser that makes people successful. What makes people successful is being
able to cooperate and collaborate with others, having a sense of purpose bigger
than yourself and your company, and wanting to be of service etc.
.
We can help our children
see the value of family and community and that others are not obstacles in the
way of our success. The opposite is true. When we view our resources and
earnings as a gift from God, not only are we careful to be honest in our
dealings and sensitive with our words but we use these resources in the service
of God and to help other people. This is the way we get ahead in life.
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