Parshat Behar 5784
Rabbi Jablinowitz
We read in this week’s parsha the prohibition against selling land in Eretz Yisrael permanently. The pasuk says (Chapter 25, Pasuk 23), והארץ לא תמכר לצמתת כי לי הארץ כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי. The land shall be not be sold permanently for the land is Mine. You shall be as strangers and dwellers in the land with Me.
Rashi learns that the prohibition is on the one who buys land. When the Yovel year arrives, the fiftieth year when all land is returned to its original owner, the buyer should not try and keep the land and refuse to return it. The Ramban argues and points out that the prohibition seems to be coming more from the perspective of the seller, לא תמכר לצמתת, and therefore teaches that it includes the seller as well as the buyer. One should not sell land permanently, intending the sale to be lasting, even beyond Yovel. The Rambam agrees with the Ramban, and in Hilchos Shemittah and Yovel, Chapter 12, Halacha 1), teaches that both the buyer and the seller transgress when the land is attempted to be sold permanently. Even though it doesn’t work, and the land goes back regardless, trying to sell the land permanently, is a transgression for both of them.
The reason for this prohibition is indicated in the simple reading of the pasuk. Firstly, the Torah says that since the land belongs to Me, you can’t buy it forever. And furthermore, you are meant to be strangers in the land with Me. What does it mean that we are strangers in the land; and why with Hashem?
The Chovos HaLevavos, in the end of the third chapter of Sha’ar Cheshbon HaNefesh, teaches that we need to view ourselves in the world as strangers in a strange land. We need to feel as if we don’t know anyone here, and no one knows who we are. We need to feel unsure of ourselves. But there is a benevolent leader who is willing to provide for us and care for us, as long as we maintain certain rules and regulations. But we are here for a limited amount of time, and therefore we may not get too comfortable and settled in this strange land.
The Sfas Emes explains this notion of being a stranger as indicating that we come from a higher place. We have a holy Neshamah, and this is why we are strangers in this world. And this why the pasuk says, כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי. Just as Hashem is not part of this world, yet we experience glimpses of His Kedushah and His presence in our world, our place in this world is of a temporary manner. Any involvement we have in Torah and mitzvos is meant to be our main occupation in this world. But our physical involvement and our daily, mundane occupation in this world should be viewed as temporary or incidental; just as a means to survive physically. This is what the Gemara in Berachos 35B describes as תורתן קבע ומלאכתן עראי; their Torah was fixed and permanent, and their work was temporary.
And even if one needs to work many more hours than he learns, his Torah can still be his main preoccupation. It can still be defined as קבע, and his work as עראי. It all depends on one’s conception of what his main role in this world is. The Sfas Emes proves this from Shemittah. Six years the land is worked in a normal fashion, providing physical sustenance. Only every seventh year does the land rest, fulfilling the concept of Shevisah resting from the work of this world and acknowledging that the land belongs to Hashem. Yet the ratio of work to rest doesn’t determine what is fundamental and what is secondary; it is our attitude and approach to the land and to Gd.
We express this attitude by counting. We count the years of Shemittah; we count to the year of Yovel. As the pasuk says (Chapter 25, Pasuk 8), וספרת לך שבע שבתת שנים שבע שנים שבע פעמים. Counting expresses our anticipation and focus on the years of Shemittah and on the year of Yovel. Years when our personal ownership becomes irrelevant and a time of true חירות. A time when everything and everyone returns to their source. A time to remember who we truly are and where we truly belong. Our longing and counting for these times expresses our focus on making our Torah the main thing and our work only secondary.
But the best example of this is Shabbos. It is only one day a week; only a seventh of our time. Yet, like Shemittah, we count towards Shabbos. Each day doesn’t have its own name or identity; its defined according to its relation to Shabbos. The first day of the week is called יום ראשון לשבת, the second day יום שני לשבת, etc. We count each day towards Shabbos. This expresses the notion that we are focused on the Kedushah and purity of Shabbos. Each day of the week, the ימי המעשה, we anticipate when we will reach a time of greater Kedushah. This is our life cycle; constantly trying to grow spiritually by connecting to the holiness available in this physical world. And Shabbos is the greatest expression of holiness in time. By counting each day towards Shabbos, and waiting each day for Shabbos, we are expressing that we are not focused on the mundane world. We are truly strangers here. We are looking towards reconnecting with Hashem and His world, and not getting too comfortable and settled in this world. כי גרים ותושבים אתם עמדי.
Good Shabbos
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