When Is B'har - B'chukotai Read?
/ 22 Iyar 5786
Summary
- God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites that in every seventh year, the land shall observe a Sabbath of complete rest: Fields should not be sown and vines should not be pruned. (25:1-7)
- After forty-nine years, a jubilee year is to be celebrated when all the land that had been sold during that time should be returned to its original owners and slaves are to be freed. (25:8-55)
- God instructs Moses to tell the Israelites not to make idols, to keep the sabbath, and to venerate the sanctuary of the Eternal. (26:1-2)
- God promises blessings to the Children of Israel if they follow the law and warns about the curses that will befall the people if they do not observe God's commandments. (26:1-46)
- Gifts made to the Sanctuary whether by conditional vows or by unconditional acts of pious gratitude are discussed. (27:1-34)
More B'har - B'chukotai Commentaries
- The Holy Charge of Being Earth's Caretakers in B’har and B’chukotai
- What Political System Does the Torah Favor?
- Are There Limits to the Revelation Received at Sinai?
- Finding the Richness and the Glory in God’s Ways
- B’har (and B'chukotai) for Teens: Shabbat Sha-raps
- Liberty and Freedom From Religion in America
- In Which the People and the Land Are Redeemed
Ten Minutes of Torah: B'har - B'chukotai Commentary
Living with Uncertainty
By: Rabbi Andy Gordon
I can only imagine what it was like to be an Israelite. Our ancestors, after centuries of slavery and imprisonment, were finally free. But that freedom came with a cost: they needed to spend 40 years wandering in the wilderness.
Continue Reading