Parsha #32 & 33 : “B’Har” / (On Mount) and
“B’Chukotai” / (By My Regulations)
(V’Yikra / Leviticus * 25:1 through 26.2 and 26:3 through 27:34*
Edition: 15e16
“One Last Kick at the Cat”
Greetings Sojourners, Friends, Guests and Other Readers! Welcome!
Recently, The non-fiction book entitled “The Mystery of the Shemitah” by best-selling author Jonathan Cahn, has been enjoying excellent sales, and is very popular amongst people of faith and those seeking to learn more about the connections between Christianity and Judaism. Cahn, who has seemingly sprung on the literary scene with his first book, “The Harbinger” clearly takes an American-centered approach to what Adonai is trying to teach us in Scriptures. In examining the first law recorded in this week’s Parsha segment, he claims that much of the world’s conditions lie in our obedience (or lack there-of) to the concept of Shemitah. This year, I believe we should be paying attention to both the Shemitah and the Yovel years, as we are about to experience both in rapid succession.
Our Parsha this week, once again a double portion of readings, makes up the final three chapters of the Book of V’Yikra/Leviticus. While the first Parsha (B’Har) both begins and ends with book-end style references to Shabbat – references which may, to a casual reader, seem out-of-place or unrelated – a more careful study of the passage will reveal just how the topic is strongly connected. Within the ‘territory’ bound by the references to Shabbat we read of laws which lay out Elohim’s plans for the lands which B'nei Yisra'el will inherit, whether used for agricultural purposes, for small residential villages and towns and for walled-in cities. There are also laws which deal with interactions and responsibilities toward the poor and toward some foreigners (as related to the land). Chapters 26 and 27 (Parsha B’Chukotai) finish off the book with advice still related to land and property functioning and what appear at first glance, to be some ‘odds and ends’… One last ‘kick at the cat’ with a rapid succession of Laws being put forward. As in past double parshiot collections, we will focus mainly on just the first set of readings for this study. To begin, then, let’s make an overview of what we have before us.
In the “Complete Jewish Bible”, translated by David H. Stern (rapidly becoming – if not already accomplished – one of my favourite translations of Scripture), Parsha B’Har (On Mount [Sinai]) encompasses just two and one third pages. One might wonder how this tiny passage could possibly be important to a fledgling nation struggling to create, under the direction of Elohim, a foundation on which [already from our point of view] thousands of years of history has rested, not to mention that eons of future existence also will be perched on it. However, it is in this passage that we find the background information which made necessary, and indeed led to, the 70 year exile for B'nei Yisra'el.
Recently, The non-fiction book entitled “The Mystery of the Shemitah” by best-selling author Jonathan Cahn, has been enjoying excellent sales, and is very popular amongst people of faith and those seeking to learn more about the connections between Christianity and Judaism. Cahn, who has seemingly sprung on the literary scene with his first book, “The Harbinger” clearly takes an American-centered approach to what Adonai is trying to teach us in Scriptures. In examining the first law recorded in this week’s Parsha segment, he claims that much of the world’s conditions lie in our obedience (or lack there-of) to the concept of Shemitah. This year, I believe we should be paying attention to both the Shemitah and the Yovel years, as we are about to experience both in rapid succession.
Our Parsha this week, once again a double portion of readings, makes up the final three chapters of the Book of V’Yikra/Leviticus. While the first Parsha (B’Har) both begins and ends with book-end style references to Shabbat – references which may, to a casual reader, seem out-of-place or unrelated – a more careful study of the passage will reveal just how the topic is strongly connected. Within the ‘territory’ bound by the references to Shabbat we read of laws which lay out Elohim’s plans for the lands which B'nei Yisra'el will inherit, whether used for agricultural purposes, for small residential villages and towns and for walled-in cities. There are also laws which deal with interactions and responsibilities toward the poor and toward some foreigners (as related to the land). Chapters 26 and 27 (Parsha B’Chukotai) finish off the book with advice still related to land and property functioning and what appear at first glance, to be some ‘odds and ends’… One last ‘kick at the cat’ with a rapid succession of Laws being put forward. As in past double parshiot collections, we will focus mainly on just the first set of readings for this study. To begin, then, let’s make an overview of what we have before us.
In the “Complete Jewish Bible”, translated by David H. Stern (rapidly becoming – if not already accomplished – one of my favourite translations of Scripture), Parsha B’Har (On Mount [Sinai]) encompasses just two and one third pages. One might wonder how this tiny passage could possibly be important to a fledgling nation struggling to create, under the direction of Elohim, a foundation on which [already from our point of view] thousands of years of history has rested, not to mention that eons of future existence also will be perched on it. However, it is in this passage that we find the background information which made necessary, and indeed led to, the 70 year exile for B'nei Yisra'el.
As already noted, we open with a strange reference to the Shabbat. We read, “Adonai spoke to Moshé on Mount Sinai; He said, 'Tell B'nei Yisra'el, "When you enter the land I am giving you, the land itself is to observe a Shabbat rest for Adonai. Six years you will sow your field; six years you will prune your grape vines and gather their produce. But in the seventh year [there] is to be a Shabbat of complete rest for the land, a Shabbat for Adonai… a year of complete rest for the land…” '" This seventh year is what we have come to know as the “Shemitah”.
Beginning in verse 8 we read about an additional ongoing event which is the “Yovel” year, or “Year of Yovel” generally translated as “Jubilee Year”. “You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is forty nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a [broken] blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land …”. This freedom, is to be all encompassing - freedom for the land from growing, freedom from slavery, freedom from all debts. “That fiftieth year will be a ‘Yovel’ for you…. It will be holy for you;…”
Then in verse 18, Elohim points out that all inter-personal dealings are to be ‘on the up-and-up’ particularly when it comes to the sale of any lands. Here Adonai lays down some ground rules about how, and under what conditions, land is to be sold. Then in the next segment Adonai lays out before the people that they will be blessed if they keep these laws – that is the laws of Shemitah, Yovel, and proper dealings with one’s fellow Israelite.
In verse 23, G-d points out that the conditions under which land is bought and sold all hinge around the Yovel year. First, He reminds the people that they don’t own the land, [He does!]. Therefore they can’t simply sell and walk away, as it were. Because the land was a birthright, so to speak, it is part of God’s plan that the sale of one’s land should, if at all possible, be kept within the family.
The next section deals with a subsection of this law. Notice that we have been basically talking of agricultural land – that is: fields, so far. Jumping ahead a bit (to verse 31) land (homes) within villages associated with fields (that is un-walled villages or towns) are dealt with – and we see that such property falls directly under the above conditions in every way. Returning to verse 29, now, property, land, and homes within a walled city have a condition placed upon them – instead of the 50 year condition for sale and redemption, only one year is allowed for the property to be redeemed.
Next, Elohim deals with the houses of the Levites. Remember they were awarded certain lands for their cities and these cities were surrounded by land which was to be used for producing crops for their own use. While an individual could sell his home in the city, he could successfully redeem it at any time. The fields however, could not be sold, as they were permanently awarded to the Levite tribe for communal use. (Remember that the Levites had many special conditions, and blessings, upon them because Elohim took them to himself on behalf of all the first born sons of Israel who were ‘owed’ to Elohim in recompense for the deaths of all the first born of Egypt. [See Exodus 13:1f and Numbers 8:15ff. See also reflections on Parsha B’h’alotkha, edition 15f06, on my website*]
The rest of Chapter 25 pertains to how to deal with foreign slaves in relation to the Yovel year, noting that all slaves are to be treated justly and given their freedom in the ‘Jubilee’. The passage also deals with how to treat fellow Jews who have fallen on hard times and must sell themselves (and / or families) into slavery. Adonai reminds B'nei Yisra'el that under no condition are they to have fellow Jews in service as de facto slaves. (“For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.”(V’Yikra 25:55)) At the same time, if a Jewish ‘neighbour’ [“Who is My Neighbour?”] must sell himself to a foreigner (a Goy), one is to do everything possible to redeem him from such a fate. Again, the redemption price will be determined by the timing of the Yovel year. That person will then become a worker (not a slave, but an employee) for the redeemer, but he will be set free in the Yovel.
Finally, in a strange manner, though not necessarily unique, the first two verses of Chapter 26 are included in this Parsha, as we close with the aforementioned reminder of the Torah (Law) itself, especially dealing with idolatry and the Shabbat. “You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue, or a standing stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I am Adonai your God. Keep my Shabbatot, and revere my sanctuary; I am Adonai.”
Returning to the beginning of our passage, to study it in more detail, we realize that there is a very strong reminder that Elohim has thought this all through. Perhaps, perhaps, as in the dialogue which happens prior to the destruction of Sodom, there was even some heavenly discussion about how the ground-rules would be laid out for B'nei Yisra'el and for all who would believe. In the case of Sodom we recall this conversation: “Adonai said, ‘should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation… For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household… to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just…’” To Whom is Elohim speaking here, I wonder? We put this together with the great insight with which the apostle Jochanan opens his Gospel account, as he writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being.” As believers in Y’shua as the long awaited Messiah of Yisra’el and the world, we hold on faith that He is also the ‘Living Word’, the Torah made alive as it were; and this connects Him directly, as Yochanan indicates, to the beginning of Creation. We read that Elohim spoke [the Word] and creation was made real. Yochanan also says that “the Word became a human Being and ‘tabernacled’ amongst us and we saw His Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son – full of grace and truth.” If this is true then, and I have no reason to disbelieve that it isn’t, then is it not possible that God dialogued with the pre-incarnate Word as He contemplated the Laws which would be enacted “On Mount” Sinai?
Can’t you just imagine it? “Have I missed anything?” says Elohim. To which the Word responds, well you need to account for the exchange of Land, and remember it should always remain ‘Your land’.” Oh yes, of course, I almost forgot – but if I do that then we need to consider those who may be forced to sell their land for a short period.” Says Elohim. “Right!” says the Word – but there needs to be some protection for those poor souls.” And on and on the conversation would go.
Many modern scholars seem intent on attributing the Torah to a variety of authors over a long period of time. Some point to wordings here and there to say this must have been written by the Priests and this section by another person, and that by a different group. Maybe they are right, [we have no way of knowing the truth of the matter for certain] but in Judaism there is one definite fact to which they hold with all resolve – and that is that no matter when a law is recorded or applied in the Torah, it was revealed On Mount Sinai, and recorded originally by Moshé at the time. This, the sages point out, is why we have the catch phrase (our Parsha Title, in fact), “On Mount [Sinai]”. The phrase is superfluous except as a reminder that ALL the laws were revealed at one time… in fact, even the details were revealed to Moshé even if the Law did not pertain to the time in the desert, but was to be enacted, as in this case, after they took possession of the Land to which Elohim was bringing them. The same could be said about many aspects of the Moedim, such as Sukkot…”When you come into the land” you will do this or that we read in many places. I believe that all believers must come to terms with this and side with the sages in our thinking. IF we believe that Elohim is the God of all, that He is all knowing, all powerful, all seeing, then I believe it behooves us to allow that He knew what would be necessary for us from the very beginning, and that, as He guided us in the development of a representative nation, He stressed all that they (and subsequently we) would need at any given time.
The laws recorded here in Parsha B’Har technically all deal in some way with the land B'nei Yisra'el would inherit when the time was right. Moshé is told to instruct the people because, as Elohim is developing this nation, He is desirous of establishing a certain – let’s call it a Godly – mindset. This mindset is difficult to accept for those in the western world, in fact probably in any area, nation or even province of the world except Israel – for I know of no other land in which this is the case. At the same time, I believe that those of us dwelling in this day and age, perhaps even to a large extent even in modern-day Israel itself, will have difficulty accepting the premise. So what is the premise, then? Simply this, that no one, NO ONE, owns the land, and NO ONE owns time. Part of the reason for beginning this passage with the reference to the Shabbat, is to take the reader back to the time of Creation – to recall Who it was that created everything we see, everything we have around us. Elohim God is the Creator, and He maintains ownership of all creation – eternally. He can give it to whomever he wishes and He can withdraw it whenever it suits Him.
Are you aware that, in Ontario at least, and I suspect everywhere, that we cannot refuse to show a police officer our driver’s licence if asked to produce it in a road-side stop? Do you understand that any officer, given just cause, has the right to withdraw our licence and keep it so that we cannot drive? This is because our driver’s licence does not belong to us – it is the property of the provincial government. They give us the privilege of driving on the understanding that we keep the laws related to driving.
This is a direct parallel to what we are seeing in this Parsha. God is going to give the privilege of living in the ‘Promised Land’ on the understanding that the people will observe and obey the rules He has established relating to that privilege. In other words: The underlying understanding is that, as Creator, Elohim owns all the earth. It remains His forever. How He chooses to share it with humanity is His business. He can give the privilege – which is His deepest desire, for He wants His people to prosper, but He can also withdraw the privilege at any given time, given just cause – such as not keeping the Shemitah and Yovel Laws, and / or any Laws which He has made and connected to the enjoyment of the land, for example “Honour your father and mother so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you”.
Now, it is true that this concept of land ownership being God’s is only enacted in the land of Yisra’el, but that is because that nation is meant to be peculiar, strangely different from the rest of the world, because they are meant to be illustrative to the rest of the world of God’s desire for human-kind. Imagine how the world, our world today even, would be completely different from what we have made it. Just in one area alone, there would be tremendous difference – that of wars. We use all sorts of excuses for going to war don’t we – economy, religion, politics, and a few more. However, what generally lies at the root of all our excuses is land ownership. “One has, and the other wants”…. full stop! If we could simply grasp that our neighbour has land because it is God’s will, and that they don’t actually ‘own’ it, maybe we could find a way to be more content with what we have. Furthermore, if we could accept that all land belongs to Elohim for ever, we might begin to look to Him for solutions, instead of warring with our neighbours to gain more. [See End Notes]
Beginning in verse 8 we read about an additional ongoing event which is the “Yovel” year, or “Year of Yovel” generally translated as “Jubilee Year”. “You are to count seven Shabbats of years, seven times seven years, that is forty nine years. Then on the tenth day of the seventh month on Yom Kippur, you are to sound a [broken] blast on the shofar; you are to sound the shofar all through your land; and you are to consecrate the fiftieth year, proclaiming freedom throughout the land …”. This freedom, is to be all encompassing - freedom for the land from growing, freedom from slavery, freedom from all debts. “That fiftieth year will be a ‘Yovel’ for you…. It will be holy for you;…”
Then in verse 18, Elohim points out that all inter-personal dealings are to be ‘on the up-and-up’ particularly when it comes to the sale of any lands. Here Adonai lays down some ground rules about how, and under what conditions, land is to be sold. Then in the next segment Adonai lays out before the people that they will be blessed if they keep these laws – that is the laws of Shemitah, Yovel, and proper dealings with one’s fellow Israelite.
In verse 23, G-d points out that the conditions under which land is bought and sold all hinge around the Yovel year. First, He reminds the people that they don’t own the land, [He does!]. Therefore they can’t simply sell and walk away, as it were. Because the land was a birthright, so to speak, it is part of God’s plan that the sale of one’s land should, if at all possible, be kept within the family.
The next section deals with a subsection of this law. Notice that we have been basically talking of agricultural land – that is: fields, so far. Jumping ahead a bit (to verse 31) land (homes) within villages associated with fields (that is un-walled villages or towns) are dealt with – and we see that such property falls directly under the above conditions in every way. Returning to verse 29, now, property, land, and homes within a walled city have a condition placed upon them – instead of the 50 year condition for sale and redemption, only one year is allowed for the property to be redeemed.
Next, Elohim deals with the houses of the Levites. Remember they were awarded certain lands for their cities and these cities were surrounded by land which was to be used for producing crops for their own use. While an individual could sell his home in the city, he could successfully redeem it at any time. The fields however, could not be sold, as they were permanently awarded to the Levite tribe for communal use. (Remember that the Levites had many special conditions, and blessings, upon them because Elohim took them to himself on behalf of all the first born sons of Israel who were ‘owed’ to Elohim in recompense for the deaths of all the first born of Egypt. [See Exodus 13:1f and Numbers 8:15ff. See also reflections on Parsha B’h’alotkha, edition 15f06, on my website*]
The rest of Chapter 25 pertains to how to deal with foreign slaves in relation to the Yovel year, noting that all slaves are to be treated justly and given their freedom in the ‘Jubilee’. The passage also deals with how to treat fellow Jews who have fallen on hard times and must sell themselves (and / or families) into slavery. Adonai reminds B'nei Yisra'el that under no condition are they to have fellow Jews in service as de facto slaves. (“For to me the people of Isra’el are slaves; they are my slaves whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.”(V’Yikra 25:55)) At the same time, if a Jewish ‘neighbour’ [“Who is My Neighbour?”] must sell himself to a foreigner (a Goy), one is to do everything possible to redeem him from such a fate. Again, the redemption price will be determined by the timing of the Yovel year. That person will then become a worker (not a slave, but an employee) for the redeemer, but he will be set free in the Yovel.
Finally, in a strange manner, though not necessarily unique, the first two verses of Chapter 26 are included in this Parsha, as we close with the aforementioned reminder of the Torah (Law) itself, especially dealing with idolatry and the Shabbat. “You are not to make yourselves any idols, erect a carved statue, or a standing stone, or place any carved stone anywhere in your land in order to bow down to it. I am Adonai your God. Keep my Shabbatot, and revere my sanctuary; I am Adonai.”
Returning to the beginning of our passage, to study it in more detail, we realize that there is a very strong reminder that Elohim has thought this all through. Perhaps, perhaps, as in the dialogue which happens prior to the destruction of Sodom, there was even some heavenly discussion about how the ground-rules would be laid out for B'nei Yisra'el and for all who would believe. In the case of Sodom we recall this conversation: “Adonai said, ‘should I hide from Avraham what I am about to do, inasmuch as Avraham is sure to become a great and strong nation… For I have made myself known to him, so that he will give orders to his children and to his household… to keep the way of Adonai and to do what is right and just…’” To Whom is Elohim speaking here, I wonder? We put this together with the great insight with which the apostle Jochanan opens his Gospel account, as he writes: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. All things came to be through Him, and without Him nothing made had being.” As believers in Y’shua as the long awaited Messiah of Yisra’el and the world, we hold on faith that He is also the ‘Living Word’, the Torah made alive as it were; and this connects Him directly, as Yochanan indicates, to the beginning of Creation. We read that Elohim spoke [the Word] and creation was made real. Yochanan also says that “the Word became a human Being and ‘tabernacled’ amongst us and we saw His Sh’khinah, the Sh’khinah of the Father’s only Son – full of grace and truth.” If this is true then, and I have no reason to disbelieve that it isn’t, then is it not possible that God dialogued with the pre-incarnate Word as He contemplated the Laws which would be enacted “On Mount” Sinai?
Can’t you just imagine it? “Have I missed anything?” says Elohim. To which the Word responds, well you need to account for the exchange of Land, and remember it should always remain ‘Your land’.” Oh yes, of course, I almost forgot – but if I do that then we need to consider those who may be forced to sell their land for a short period.” Says Elohim. “Right!” says the Word – but there needs to be some protection for those poor souls.” And on and on the conversation would go.
Many modern scholars seem intent on attributing the Torah to a variety of authors over a long period of time. Some point to wordings here and there to say this must have been written by the Priests and this section by another person, and that by a different group. Maybe they are right, [we have no way of knowing the truth of the matter for certain] but in Judaism there is one definite fact to which they hold with all resolve – and that is that no matter when a law is recorded or applied in the Torah, it was revealed On Mount Sinai, and recorded originally by Moshé at the time. This, the sages point out, is why we have the catch phrase (our Parsha Title, in fact), “On Mount [Sinai]”. The phrase is superfluous except as a reminder that ALL the laws were revealed at one time… in fact, even the details were revealed to Moshé even if the Law did not pertain to the time in the desert, but was to be enacted, as in this case, after they took possession of the Land to which Elohim was bringing them. The same could be said about many aspects of the Moedim, such as Sukkot…”When you come into the land” you will do this or that we read in many places. I believe that all believers must come to terms with this and side with the sages in our thinking. IF we believe that Elohim is the God of all, that He is all knowing, all powerful, all seeing, then I believe it behooves us to allow that He knew what would be necessary for us from the very beginning, and that, as He guided us in the development of a representative nation, He stressed all that they (and subsequently we) would need at any given time.
The laws recorded here in Parsha B’Har technically all deal in some way with the land B'nei Yisra'el would inherit when the time was right. Moshé is told to instruct the people because, as Elohim is developing this nation, He is desirous of establishing a certain – let’s call it a Godly – mindset. This mindset is difficult to accept for those in the western world, in fact probably in any area, nation or even province of the world except Israel – for I know of no other land in which this is the case. At the same time, I believe that those of us dwelling in this day and age, perhaps even to a large extent even in modern-day Israel itself, will have difficulty accepting the premise. So what is the premise, then? Simply this, that no one, NO ONE, owns the land, and NO ONE owns time. Part of the reason for beginning this passage with the reference to the Shabbat, is to take the reader back to the time of Creation – to recall Who it was that created everything we see, everything we have around us. Elohim God is the Creator, and He maintains ownership of all creation – eternally. He can give it to whomever he wishes and He can withdraw it whenever it suits Him.
Are you aware that, in Ontario at least, and I suspect everywhere, that we cannot refuse to show a police officer our driver’s licence if asked to produce it in a road-side stop? Do you understand that any officer, given just cause, has the right to withdraw our licence and keep it so that we cannot drive? This is because our driver’s licence does not belong to us – it is the property of the provincial government. They give us the privilege of driving on the understanding that we keep the laws related to driving.
This is a direct parallel to what we are seeing in this Parsha. God is going to give the privilege of living in the ‘Promised Land’ on the understanding that the people will observe and obey the rules He has established relating to that privilege. In other words: The underlying understanding is that, as Creator, Elohim owns all the earth. It remains His forever. How He chooses to share it with humanity is His business. He can give the privilege – which is His deepest desire, for He wants His people to prosper, but He can also withdraw the privilege at any given time, given just cause – such as not keeping the Shemitah and Yovel Laws, and / or any Laws which He has made and connected to the enjoyment of the land, for example “Honour your father and mother so that you may live long in the land which Adonai your God is giving you”.
Now, it is true that this concept of land ownership being God’s is only enacted in the land of Yisra’el, but that is because that nation is meant to be peculiar, strangely different from the rest of the world, because they are meant to be illustrative to the rest of the world of God’s desire for human-kind. Imagine how the world, our world today even, would be completely different from what we have made it. Just in one area alone, there would be tremendous difference – that of wars. We use all sorts of excuses for going to war don’t we – economy, religion, politics, and a few more. However, what generally lies at the root of all our excuses is land ownership. “One has, and the other wants”…. full stop! If we could simply grasp that our neighbour has land because it is God’s will, and that they don’t actually ‘own’ it, maybe we could find a way to be more content with what we have. Furthermore, if we could accept that all land belongs to Elohim for ever, we might begin to look to Him for solutions, instead of warring with our neighbours to gain more. [See End Notes]
"Homage to the Self-Made Man"
A second reason behind Elohim maintaining the ownership of all creation, and especially the land, is to prevent the trap into which most of the world falls – that if we strive hard, and keep-on-truckin’, we will achieve great things; we will be successful and have everything we want. In Short, we will quickly come to see ourselves as "Self-Made Men (and Women). Unfortunately, the World – and the prince of this world, Satan – has rewarded such a mindset. Recently I was watching an episode of “Midsummer Murders” in which one of the characters, an odious person who continually used others for his own gain (or pleasure) and then cast them aside, stated blatantly something along the lines of “Father, you don’t get it! It’s the bastards in life who get ahead.” This is the way most of the world seems to think, especially if there is an economic kingdom to protect (or gain). Yet in the end, as the saying goes, we know we can’t take it with us when we die, and if it gets left to one’s descendants, eventually, because they don’t comprehend what it took to achieve, it gets frittered away, and nothing is left at all – all that effort, in the end, is wasted. Elohim is reminding the Nation that it is good to work hard, but we strive for something far greater than worldly success, something far greater than possessions which erode, dry up and rust out. “Our treasures,” Y’shua reminds us, “are not here in this world, but in the Kingdom which is to come.” And it is that for which we should be striving.
In the last verses of our Parsha this week, we are reminded of two major Laws which were etched forever on the stone tablets for all to know. The first is the warning that we should have no idols in our lives, we should not worship anything other than Elohim. In terms of land and possessions, this is a good Law; one of which we need to be reminded. It is a very short step from owning one’s land, one’s home, one’s crops to holding it as something to be revered. How often does one hear that a farmer does not own his land but rather is owned by it – in other words, it possesses him The farmer’s every hour is spent on the land – preparing it, planting it, caring for it (and the crops) and harvesting the produce. As such, that land, and anything ‘attached’ to it becomes special to the farmer and to the family. Indeed, the land and our work can literally take over our lives. Today, most farm families pass on land to sons or daughters in the hope of ‘keeping it in the family’. We have, all over southern Ontario, “Centennial Farms” and “Heritage Farms” which are recognized as longstanding farmland owned by one family. (This of course is off-set to a certain extent by those whose children don’t want to be farmers, and so the land is sold off to developers and others with no regard for history or land). These concepts border on, if not actually represent first hand, what idolatry is all about, and they show how easily it can be practiced even unintentionally.
It is also a short step from recognizing (and acknowledging) that all growth and abundance comes from Elohim to thinking that it is one’s ‘hard labour’ that brings new crops up from the ground. When we simply have to push ourselves to achieve – growth, success, etc., it can become destructive. We forget that we are to take the seventh day of the week ‘off’ from our work. This is why we are reminded, in the last verses of our Parsha B’Har of the Shabbat. The fourth commandment says that we are to “remember the Shabbat and set it apart for God”. We all know times when we have ‘just had to get something done’, and so we excuse our neglecting of the Shabbat and go ahead and work. Again, this arises from believing that our efforts will fail if something isn’t done right away. Work-a-holics suffer from this thought process, but they are not alone. It is this same thinking that a business will fail if the ‘store’ isn’t open all seven days of the week, or ‘Some other business will thrive and steal my customers if I am not open. This is already more than an epidemic problem in our society. Families suffer and break down because of this ill-advised thinking. Furthermore, when fields need to be worked, or when the mall is open and available – it encourages individuals and families alike to turn away from a day with Elohim, so they can do something “interesting”. And yet, the promise is there for us. If we will observe (keep) the Shabbat, God will provide for our needs.
This is the same concept which leads to the Shemitah year and the Yovel year. Taking a break from our weekly labours, and taking a break on behalf of the land every seventh year (or fiftieth year), acknowledges that the land and all it produces is in the capable hands of Elohim. If we obey this commandment, we are promised: “… you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land. The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you will live there securely.” When one thinks about this promise, one realizes that it actually proves that God is speaking this promise, for if it was simply Moshé making the claim, and things ‘back-fired’ and the people starved, or went broke, even though they obeyed – it would make God out to be a liar and faith would be lost. No prophet or person of God would make such outlandish promises on their own – it would defeat the whole purpose. It is clearly God, therefore, Who declares that ‘I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land brings forth enough produce for all three years’ – that would be during the harvest of year 6’s crops, living off that for the seventh year and coming back around to the planting and up to the harvesting of the eighth year’s crops. In a Yovel year, God will produce enough to live for the extra year from His Hand as well.
I remember when I was young, a friend from school who lived on a farm explaining the concept of letting the land lie fallow. They would divide the property into sections, half of which would be left unplanted in one year, and then the next year those fields would be planted while the first half remained fallow, (unplanted).
In the nations around Eretz Yisra’el (The Land of Israel) the Shemitah and Yovel years were not observed – understandably, since the Law was not part of their history. Like the farms near where I grew up, ‘The Nations’ alternated growth periods. This meant that only half the land was being used to grow crops – so a field could produce only once in two years. Meanwhile, in Israel, the land was producing crops every six years out of seven, an amazing difference.
In the last verses of our Parsha this week, we are reminded of two major Laws which were etched forever on the stone tablets for all to know. The first is the warning that we should have no idols in our lives, we should not worship anything other than Elohim. In terms of land and possessions, this is a good Law; one of which we need to be reminded. It is a very short step from owning one’s land, one’s home, one’s crops to holding it as something to be revered. How often does one hear that a farmer does not own his land but rather is owned by it – in other words, it possesses him The farmer’s every hour is spent on the land – preparing it, planting it, caring for it (and the crops) and harvesting the produce. As such, that land, and anything ‘attached’ to it becomes special to the farmer and to the family. Indeed, the land and our work can literally take over our lives. Today, most farm families pass on land to sons or daughters in the hope of ‘keeping it in the family’. We have, all over southern Ontario, “Centennial Farms” and “Heritage Farms” which are recognized as longstanding farmland owned by one family. (This of course is off-set to a certain extent by those whose children don’t want to be farmers, and so the land is sold off to developers and others with no regard for history or land). These concepts border on, if not actually represent first hand, what idolatry is all about, and they show how easily it can be practiced even unintentionally.
It is also a short step from recognizing (and acknowledging) that all growth and abundance comes from Elohim to thinking that it is one’s ‘hard labour’ that brings new crops up from the ground. When we simply have to push ourselves to achieve – growth, success, etc., it can become destructive. We forget that we are to take the seventh day of the week ‘off’ from our work. This is why we are reminded, in the last verses of our Parsha B’Har of the Shabbat. The fourth commandment says that we are to “remember the Shabbat and set it apart for God”. We all know times when we have ‘just had to get something done’, and so we excuse our neglecting of the Shabbat and go ahead and work. Again, this arises from believing that our efforts will fail if something isn’t done right away. Work-a-holics suffer from this thought process, but they are not alone. It is this same thinking that a business will fail if the ‘store’ isn’t open all seven days of the week, or ‘Some other business will thrive and steal my customers if I am not open. This is already more than an epidemic problem in our society. Families suffer and break down because of this ill-advised thinking. Furthermore, when fields need to be worked, or when the mall is open and available – it encourages individuals and families alike to turn away from a day with Elohim, so they can do something “interesting”. And yet, the promise is there for us. If we will observe (keep) the Shabbat, God will provide for our needs.
This is the same concept which leads to the Shemitah year and the Yovel year. Taking a break from our weekly labours, and taking a break on behalf of the land every seventh year (or fiftieth year), acknowledges that the land and all it produces is in the capable hands of Elohim. If we obey this commandment, we are promised: “… you are to keep my regulations and rulings and act accordingly. If you do, you will live securely in the land. The land will yield its produce, you will eat until you have enough, and you will live there securely.” When one thinks about this promise, one realizes that it actually proves that God is speaking this promise, for if it was simply Moshé making the claim, and things ‘back-fired’ and the people starved, or went broke, even though they obeyed – it would make God out to be a liar and faith would be lost. No prophet or person of God would make such outlandish promises on their own – it would defeat the whole purpose. It is clearly God, therefore, Who declares that ‘I will order my blessing on you during the sixth year, so that the land brings forth enough produce for all three years’ – that would be during the harvest of year 6’s crops, living off that for the seventh year and coming back around to the planting and up to the harvesting of the eighth year’s crops. In a Yovel year, God will produce enough to live for the extra year from His Hand as well.
I remember when I was young, a friend from school who lived on a farm explaining the concept of letting the land lie fallow. They would divide the property into sections, half of which would be left unplanted in one year, and then the next year those fields would be planted while the first half remained fallow, (unplanted).
In the nations around Eretz Yisra’el (The Land of Israel) the Shemitah and Yovel years were not observed – understandably, since the Law was not part of their history. Like the farms near where I grew up, ‘The Nations’ alternated growth periods. This meant that only half the land was being used to grow crops – so a field could produce only once in two years. Meanwhile, in Israel, the land was producing crops every six years out of seven, an amazing difference.
Generally, each of these garden boxes would be filled with neat rows of a variety of vegetables: carrots, beans, tomatoes, squash, and so on. By leaving the areas 'fallow', what comes up may be grown from old roots, from seeds which fell during the previous harvest, or even weeds. The greenery will be plowed under next year, and composted to improve the soil.
We have friends who, out of obedience to the call of Elohim to observe Shemitah, have decided to not plant food crops in the small, private garden area in their back yard. While its true that we are not talking about expansive fields in the Holy Land, but rather just simple 'raised' garden areas on their property, the effect is the same, and I applaud them for their sense of wanting to do what they feel is right for them. The land has been left uncultivated, unplanted and untended. I think it is a courageous experiment to take God at His word and learn what happens.
Of course, a farmer could ignore the process and plant all his fields every year, but that would not have been wise in the long run. Again, I can recall driving from Barrie down highway 400 through “Holland Marsh”, one of the most fertile areas in Southern Ontario. I remember the soil being black, literally, it was so rich and fertile. I remember the smell of the dirt as we drove through the ‘valley’. The smell was rich, and even a city boy like myself knew it meant it was great soil for growing. Crops of vegetables from the area were distributed over a huge area, maybe even internationally. Today, after farming the land year after year, the soil is light brown. There is no smell of fertility to be enjoyed. True, the land still produces, but I venture to suspect that it is fertilized artificially or perhaps even chemically. It is sad, to me, seeing how overuse has affected the area. Furthermore, I suspect that this is representative of much of the farmland in Canada and America.
God gives us His Laws for a reason – to recall that Elohim, and only Elohim, is the overall proprietor of creation – all lands, and all people (thus the rules about slavery, etc., [upon which I have not reflected in this article]. Only Elohim is in charge of His creation, it is Elohim who decides who will live here, or there. In spite of the fact that He allows us to work the land, we do so as His representatives, His stewards, and only He is responsible for the produce which sprouts from the ground. Most importantly, because we are self-centred and greedy by nature, and can’t sometimes see the forest for the trees, it is only Elohim Who sees the bigger picture and is able to plan ahead for our well being. When we disobey His laws, (and He has given us ample warning about this) we stand the threat of losing everything. This is what happened to Israel, (the northern kingdom) in 722 BCE and to Judah, (the southern kingdom) in 586 BCE. The inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom were taken to Assyria, and for the most part, through subsequent dispersion, have been lost to history [They are known today as The Ten Lost Tribes]. Those from Judah were taken to Babylon where they lived as slaves (for the most part) for 70 years. (It is interesting of course that the exile lasted 10 times longer than one cycle of Shemitah. Some students of Scripture reason that the number 70 is to make up for the fact that B'nei Yisra'el had ignored the Law of Shemitah for 490 years, a span which would have included 70 years during which the land should have been able to rest.)
To see how important these Laws of the land, and those which are related to them, actually are, I would encourage you to read the second part of this week’s Parsha: B’Chukotai. The passage begins with the promise of God’s good will toward B'nei Yisra'el: “If you live by my regulations…” then Adonai lays out numerous ways in which He will bless the land and the people. But, beginning in verse 14, Elohim begins to lay out the curses that will accompany disobedience. They are listed in ever increasing degrees of flagrant abuse of God’s good will. I would encourage the reader to study the passage carefully. By the time we read down to verse 27 we get these warnings: “And if, [after] all this, you still will not listen to me, but go against me, then I will go against you furiously, and I will chastise you yet seven time more for your sins… I will destroy your high places,… lay waste to your cities… make your sanctuaries desolate, I will desolate your land… You I will disperse among the nations,… your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland. Then at last, the land will be paid its Shabbatot. As long as it lies desolate, and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid its Shabbatot. Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbatot, when you lived there.”
These promised warnings are spoken to B'nei Yisra'el by Moshé, under the direction of Elohim, before the people are even in the land. It seems that upon settling the land, the people were obedient, and the Laws of Shemitah were kept for a period of time. But some 800 years after Moshé’s warnings, Jeremiah is sent to God to try to bring the nation back to God and to obedience related to idolatry and the Shabbat, and the Shemitah. Again, I would encourage you to get the bigger picture by reading at least the whole of chapter 25 of Yirmeyahu’s book, but listen to this very precise warning he gives to Yehudah / Judah, the southern Kingdom: “Therefore, here is what Adonai Tzva’ot (The Lord of Hosts) says: ‘because you haven’t paid attention to what I’ve been saying, I’m going to send for all the families of the north,’ says Adonai, ‘and for my servant N’vukhadretzar, the king of Bavel (Babylon), and bring them against this land, against its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror and ridicule, a perpetual ruin. Moreover, I will silence among them the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of bridegroom and bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of lamps. This entire land will become a ruin, a waste; and these nations will serve the king of Bavel for seventy years…” (vss 8-11)
God gives us His Laws for a reason – to recall that Elohim, and only Elohim, is the overall proprietor of creation – all lands, and all people (thus the rules about slavery, etc., [upon which I have not reflected in this article]. Only Elohim is in charge of His creation, it is Elohim who decides who will live here, or there. In spite of the fact that He allows us to work the land, we do so as His representatives, His stewards, and only He is responsible for the produce which sprouts from the ground. Most importantly, because we are self-centred and greedy by nature, and can’t sometimes see the forest for the trees, it is only Elohim Who sees the bigger picture and is able to plan ahead for our well being. When we disobey His laws, (and He has given us ample warning about this) we stand the threat of losing everything. This is what happened to Israel, (the northern kingdom) in 722 BCE and to Judah, (the southern kingdom) in 586 BCE. The inhabitants of the Northern Kingdom were taken to Assyria, and for the most part, through subsequent dispersion, have been lost to history [They are known today as The Ten Lost Tribes]. Those from Judah were taken to Babylon where they lived as slaves (for the most part) for 70 years. (It is interesting of course that the exile lasted 10 times longer than one cycle of Shemitah. Some students of Scripture reason that the number 70 is to make up for the fact that B'nei Yisra'el had ignored the Law of Shemitah for 490 years, a span which would have included 70 years during which the land should have been able to rest.)
To see how important these Laws of the land, and those which are related to them, actually are, I would encourage you to read the second part of this week’s Parsha: B’Chukotai. The passage begins with the promise of God’s good will toward B'nei Yisra'el: “If you live by my regulations…” then Adonai lays out numerous ways in which He will bless the land and the people. But, beginning in verse 14, Elohim begins to lay out the curses that will accompany disobedience. They are listed in ever increasing degrees of flagrant abuse of God’s good will. I would encourage the reader to study the passage carefully. By the time we read down to verse 27 we get these warnings: “And if, [after] all this, you still will not listen to me, but go against me, then I will go against you furiously, and I will chastise you yet seven time more for your sins… I will destroy your high places,… lay waste to your cities… make your sanctuaries desolate, I will desolate your land… You I will disperse among the nations,… your land will be a desolation and your cities a wasteland. Then at last, the land will be paid its Shabbatot. As long as it lies desolate, and you are in the lands of your enemies, the land will rest and be repaid its Shabbatot. Yes, as long as it lies desolate it will have rest, the rest it did not have during your Shabbatot, when you lived there.”
These promised warnings are spoken to B'nei Yisra'el by Moshé, under the direction of Elohim, before the people are even in the land. It seems that upon settling the land, the people were obedient, and the Laws of Shemitah were kept for a period of time. But some 800 years after Moshé’s warnings, Jeremiah is sent to God to try to bring the nation back to God and to obedience related to idolatry and the Shabbat, and the Shemitah. Again, I would encourage you to get the bigger picture by reading at least the whole of chapter 25 of Yirmeyahu’s book, but listen to this very precise warning he gives to Yehudah / Judah, the southern Kingdom: “Therefore, here is what Adonai Tzva’ot (The Lord of Hosts) says: ‘because you haven’t paid attention to what I’ve been saying, I’m going to send for all the families of the north,’ says Adonai, ‘and for my servant N’vukhadretzar, the king of Bavel (Babylon), and bring them against this land, against its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them, making them an object of horror and ridicule, a perpetual ruin. Moreover, I will silence among them the sounds of joy and gladness. The voices of bridegroom and bride, the grinding of millstones and the light of lamps. This entire land will become a ruin, a waste; and these nations will serve the king of Bavel for seventy years…” (vss 8-11)
In the Complete Jewish Bible, the last book before we move into what we recognize as the Newer Covenant, we find the Second Book of Chronicles. [See End Notes] Again, read the last Chapter of this book in its entirety to get an overview of exactly what destructions Elohim brings about and compare it with His promises to Isra’el. Here is an overview of the last few verses, (36:11 to 22)…
“Tzedekyah… did not humble himself before Yirmeyahu the prophet speaking on behalf of Adonai… he became stiff-necked,… refusing to turn to Adonai, the God of Isra’el. In addition, the chief Cohanim and the people grew increasingly unfaithful,…Time after time, Adonai, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through His messengers [Prophets] because He had compassion on His people… but they ridiculed God’s messengers,… until the anger of Adonai rose up against His people to the extent that there was no longer any remedy… He brought the king of Kasdim (Chaldeans) [See End Notes] who… burned down the house of God, broke down the walls of Yerushalayim, put to flames all its palaces and destroyed everything in it of worth…. Thus was fulfilled the word of Adonai spoken by Yirmeyahu, ‘until the land has been paid her Shabbatot – for as long as it lay desolate, it kept Shabbat, until seventy years had passed.’”
The bottom line is this… When we ignore God’s Laws, and abuse His promises, we do so at great risk to ourselves, our loved ones, to our possessions and to our security. Let us learn, finally, from the errors of those who have gone before us and paid tremendous costs for their disobedience; let us repent of our rebellious nature and return to Adonai Tzva’ot, who is compassionate, and faithful and has good things in store for His people.
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
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“Tzedekyah… did not humble himself before Yirmeyahu the prophet speaking on behalf of Adonai… he became stiff-necked,… refusing to turn to Adonai, the God of Isra’el. In addition, the chief Cohanim and the people grew increasingly unfaithful,…Time after time, Adonai, the God of their ancestors, sent word to them through His messengers [Prophets] because He had compassion on His people… but they ridiculed God’s messengers,… until the anger of Adonai rose up against His people to the extent that there was no longer any remedy… He brought the king of Kasdim (Chaldeans) [See End Notes] who… burned down the house of God, broke down the walls of Yerushalayim, put to flames all its palaces and destroyed everything in it of worth…. Thus was fulfilled the word of Adonai spoken by Yirmeyahu, ‘until the land has been paid her Shabbatot – for as long as it lay desolate, it kept Shabbat, until seventy years had passed.’”
The bottom line is this… When we ignore God’s Laws, and abuse His promises, we do so at great risk to ourselves, our loved ones, to our possessions and to our security. Let us learn, finally, from the errors of those who have gone before us and paid tremendous costs for their disobedience; let us repent of our rebellious nature and return to Adonai Tzva’ot, who is compassionate, and faithful and has good things in store for His people.
Shavua Tov!! - Have a Great Week!!
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End Notes:
1. The material for B’H’Alotkha has not been published at the writing of this article. It will follow in about 2 or 3 weeks. It is related to Parsha #36.
2. I suspect there is one area where accepting God’s ownership of land would put an end to war – and that is in using war to gain revenge over another nation. Revenge is an area of pride and self-righteousness where we dismiss the presence of Elohim, and take on His role ourselves. Revenge is the ultimate extrapolation of the 10th Commandment,.. at least it is disguised in that manner. But revenge, or let’s say vengeance, is the business of Elohim alone – and in fact, the entry of the Nation of Israel into the land of Kena’an is an example of His vengeance upon the local people there who have sunk to such depravity that Elohim is about to remove the land from the local inhabitants. (See Breisheet 15:13-1
3. The Complete Jewish Bible contains all the books of the Bible with which we are familiar. However, the Books of the Tenakh (Older Covenant) are in the order they are found in the Jewish Scriptures, hence the placement of Chronicles at the end of the section. In the English Bible, Chronicles follows the 2 Books of Samuel and the 2 Books of the Kings near the beginning of the OC.
4. The “King of Kasdim” may have been N’vukhadretzar himself, or, because Chaldea was a part of the Babylonian empire, being located in its south,( today the lands of Iraq). The Chaldeans were nomadic people and were fierce warriors. They had earlier been conquered by Babylon. They were also descendants of Shem, by way of Arpakhshad, thus related to the Hebrew people.
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1. The material for B’H’Alotkha has not been published at the writing of this article. It will follow in about 2 or 3 weeks. It is related to Parsha #36.
2. I suspect there is one area where accepting God’s ownership of land would put an end to war – and that is in using war to gain revenge over another nation. Revenge is an area of pride and self-righteousness where we dismiss the presence of Elohim, and take on His role ourselves. Revenge is the ultimate extrapolation of the 10th Commandment,.. at least it is disguised in that manner. But revenge, or let’s say vengeance, is the business of Elohim alone – and in fact, the entry of the Nation of Israel into the land of Kena’an is an example of His vengeance upon the local people there who have sunk to such depravity that Elohim is about to remove the land from the local inhabitants. (See Breisheet 15:13-1
3. The Complete Jewish Bible contains all the books of the Bible with which we are familiar. However, the Books of the Tenakh (Older Covenant) are in the order they are found in the Jewish Scriptures, hence the placement of Chronicles at the end of the section. In the English Bible, Chronicles follows the 2 Books of Samuel and the 2 Books of the Kings near the beginning of the OC.
4. The “King of Kasdim” may have been N’vukhadretzar himself, or, because Chaldea was a part of the Babylonian empire, being located in its south,( today the lands of Iraq). The Chaldeans were nomadic people and were fierce warriors. They had earlier been conquered by Babylon. They were also descendants of Shem, by way of Arpakhshad, thus related to the Hebrew people.
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Acknowledgements – A General List
For these weekly reflections at least some of the following sources are used to resource basic and foundational information which augment’s the reflections offered.
Alexander, D and P, et al, The Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible, William H. Eerdman Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1983
Ausubel, Nathan, The Book of Jewish Knowledge, Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1970
Cahn, Jonathan, The Mystery of the Shemitah, FrontLine Publishers / Charisma Media (& House Book Group), Lake Mary, Florida, 2014
Gehman, H. S. The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA 1970
Wolgemut, Michel and Pleydenwurff, Wilhelm, “Nuremburg Chronicles”, Publisher and Date unknown is the source of the painting “The Destruction of Jerusalem” – discovered on the Internet.
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, (NIV) Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, (SEASC) Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, (CJB) Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) (NASV) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information and some images. Other images are from personal files.
= = = ======================================================== = = =
For these weekly reflections at least some of the following sources are used to resource basic and foundational information which augment’s the reflections offered.
Alexander, D and P, et al, The Eerdman’s Handbook to the Bible, William H. Eerdman Publishing, Grand Rapids, MI 1983
Ausubel, Nathan, The Book of Jewish Knowledge, Crown Publishers, New York, NY, 1970
Cahn, Jonathan, The Mystery of the Shemitah, FrontLine Publishers / Charisma Media (& House Book Group), Lake Mary, Florida, 2014
Gehman, H. S. The New Westminster Dictionary of the Bible, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA 1970
Wolgemut, Michel and Pleydenwurff, Wilhelm, “Nuremburg Chronicles”, Publisher and Date unknown is the source of the painting “The Destruction of Jerusalem” – discovered on the Internet.
Barker, Kenneth, General Editor, The New International Study Bible, (NIV) Zondervan Corporation, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1985
Scherman, R. Nosson; and Zlotowitz, R. Meir; Editors, Stone Edition Art Scroll Chumash, (SEASC) Mesorah Heritage Foundation / Mesorah Publications, Ltd., Brooklyn, New York, 2008
Stern, David, The Complete Jewish Bible, (CJB) Jewish New Testament Publications Inc, Clarkville, Maryland. 1998
Zodiates, Spiros, Exec Editor, The Hebrew Greek Key Word Bible (New American Version Bible) (NASV) AMG Publishers, Chattanooga, TN 1977
Wikipedia and other Internet sources for background information and some images. Other images are from personal files.
= = = ======================================================== = = =
With the end of V’Yikra, (as with any Book of Torah) we say the following:
Chazak, Chazak, V’nit Chazeik !
“Be Strong, Be Strong, and may we be strengthened!
Next Week, we begin the study of the Book “B’Midbar / Numbers”