Parashat B’har/B’huqqotai
The book of Leviticus begins by stating that its contents were conveyed to Moses within the Tent of Meeting that had been constructed by the Children of Israel. Yet, as we draw the book to a close, we read that this Torah portion was revealed “B’har Sinai – at Mount Sinai” (- hence the name of the first of our Torah portions). (Lev. 25:1) We seem to have gone backwards.
The Sages noted this problem, asking: mah `inyan sh’mittah etzel har Sinai? What is the connection between sh’mittah [- the Sabbatical Year] and Mount Sinai?” (See Rashi, quoting the midrash.) The array of answers to this classic question is vast and rich. Hassidic masters were especially eloquent in showing how the institution of the Sabbatical Year was so fundamental to the lessons of Judaism that it had to be rooted in the moment when the Torah was given to Israel. Indeed, the common thread tying together so many explanations for this linkage between sh’mittah and Sinai is the celebration of the Sabbatical Year as a paradigm for all that is meaningful in Judaism.
One way to think about this linkage is to remember that the Torah is explicit about another topic that occupied God’s attention while at Mount Sinai. After Israel heard the Ten Commandments, Moses ascended Mount Sinai to receive the rest of the Torah. Of all the sections of the Torah to be conveyed, the Torah tells us that God was most preoccupied with giving instructions for the construction of a sanctuary, a “tent of meeting,” where God and humans could encounter each other. That topic fills the rest of the book of Exodus.
It seems that, after the bulk of the book of Leviticus continues to delineate ways of serving God, both inside and outside the Sanctuary, it returns to this important concern that God had at Mount Sinai. This was another construction project, not of a Tent of Meeting, but of a society of meeting. Just as the Tabernacle could only be constructed through the collective giving of all Israel, so would it be necessary to recharge that spirit of unselfish magnanimity by the periodic establishment of a collective Sabbatical. The enactment of the Sabbatical Year was to be another construction project that would demand generous giving from out of the hearts of the Israelites.
This construction project was more demanding than the first. For at least the Tabernacle afforded the people a tangible result in exchange for their selflessness. They could see the glittering sanctuary built by their own gifts and talents and take satisfaction in their accomplishment. The Sabbatical society, on the other hand, was constructed by the act of letting go, and by opening up natural space to others. The first construction project was about building a home – for God and Israel. This second construction project was about relinquishing any claims to having a permanent home in this world – either for Israel or for God: “For you [Israel] are but strangers and sojourners (gerim v’toshavim) along with Me (imadi).” (Lev. 25:23)
Both these projects, in their dialectical tension, were so important that they both had to be communicated “b’har Sinai – at Mount Sinai.”
Shabbat Shalom
Rabbi David Greenstein
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Photo by Photo by Seif Amr on Unsplash, used with permission
Thank you to John Lasiter for suggesting the title and selecting an image for this Torah Sparks – Rabbi Greenstein
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