The Jewish world is a small world, so we were not surprised that our daughter and my wife’s cousin s who live in Teaneck knew the 19-year-old Teaneck, New Jersey boy who died on LaG B’OMer at Mt. Meron, Israel. Along with our daughter, we were among the 70,000 people that watched the Livestream of the funeral. I saw two parents, broken, and shattered. I listened as the mother of the 19-year-old boy began to speak. It was completely heartbreaking and I could only watch for a few minutes. Through her sobs and heavy breathing, I listened to the mother say words like “gratitude”, and “thanks”. I heard her invoke God. I listened as she told us about her son. There was no anger in her voice; instead just a profound sense of grief and loss. Her words didn’t reflect a crisis of faith nor a lack of “trust in God’s Plan”.
Parsha Behar and Parsha Bechukotai. These are the last two Parshiot in Sefer Vayikrah (Book of Leviticus). Throughout the entire book, we have read how to elevate our lives with holiness. We elevate our lives by thanking God and atoning to God, through a variety of Korbonot. We elevate our lives by avoiding behavior that defiles us; we don’t marry our sisters. We elevate our lives in every day physical behaviors; we only eat certain types of food. We elevate our lives by consciously setting aside holy times throughout the day, week, and season. In Parsha Behar, we elevate our lives and our land with holiness by setting aside another type of sacred time, Shmita (the seventh year.) Just like the seventh day (Shabbat) is a day of rest. Shmita is a year of rest. Every seventh year, all outstanding debts are canceled. The land lies fallow. Slaves and servants are set free. Agriculturally speaking, there is a benefit. Resting the soil for a year allows for replenishment of nutrients. Rabbinically speaking, less time devoted to agricultural concerns meant more time devoted to Torah study! Parsha Bechukotai, being the end of Leviticus, tells us the ramifications for behavior. “If you’ll keep the commandments… then I’ll send the rains in their time, the earth and trees will give forth their produce, you’ll settle securely in the land…I will multiply you…I will walk with you” (Lev. 25:3-10). If we don’t live up to these standards, if we neglect to add Kedushah (holiness) to our lives, if we “don’t perform these commandments, if we consider these decrees loathsome, if we reject these ordinances, if we annul the covenant, then I will do the same to you…. (Lev. 26:14:17) God will annul us. All blessings will become curses.
While the curses in the Torah portion don’t paint a very pleasant picture, both parshiot reflect the vital importance of Bitachon, trust in God. In Behar, this idea of Bitachon is evident in the commandments of Shmitta (the 7-year agricultural cycle) and Yovel (Jubilee). In the Jubilee year, all debts are canceled, and there is a quasi-national “reboot”. While it may sound nice for those of us with credit card debt, consider the turmoil. The economy would grind to a halt in the months or perhaps in a year or two before the 50th year. What lender would lend knowing that the loan would be canceled within 6 -12 months. In the Shmitta year, the land lies fallow. We all agree that the field needs a rest, a Shabbat, just like we do. If the field lies fallow, what would people eat? We are urged to trust God. “I will command my blessing upon the sixth year and it will bring forth (enough) produce for three years (Lev. 25:20-21). Just like God provided a double portion of Manna on Friday and thereby guarantee enough food for Shabbat, so too God will “guarantee enough produce in the sixth year. B’nai Yisroel won’t starve in the seventh (Shmita) year.
Our sixteen-year-old asked me about the mother's words. I explained that I would be far too angry to speak as the mother spoke. I would have needed more time without thousands of people, to move from anger to grief. Our son then asked me about whether my trust and faith in God would have been affected. Maybe it is easier to have Bitachon, to have trust and faith in God when it comes to large “macro” issues such as rain in the rainy season and dry in the season. Maybe it's easier to have Bitachon -trust, to have trust and faith that a 50-year “reboot” or “re-do” won’t turn people's lives and an economy upside down. Maybe it's easier to have faith and trust in something that is more emotionally distant in an “idea” or in the metaphysical. When my son asked me whether I would have questioned my faith and trust in God. I answered immediately and without hesitation. Yes, a tragedy like this would test my faith, and my trust in God would have waned. I think that it would be a long time before I could trust in God again and have my faith restored. Yes, I could understand the parents speak about the wonderful qualities of their 19-year-old son. I understood why they focused on his “living”, and the things he did over the course of his short 19 years of life. Yes, I could understand it, but I don’t think that I would be able to speak of it nor share it, not yet, not until the shock and anger subsided.
Rav Yitz
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