A large part of this week’s Torah portion concerns itself
with the laws of the Shemitah and Yovel years – the seventh year and the
fiftieth year in the agricultural cycle in the land of Israel, when Jews are
forbidden from planting and harvesting in their own fields. In the fiftieth
year ancestral lands that a family was forced to sell to provide for themselves
revert back to the owners and all Jewish slaves are set free (Leviticus,
chapter 25). Amidst these laws there is one verse that touches on an entirely
different topic: “If you sell anything to your neighbor, or buy anything from
your neighbor, do not cheat one another” (25:14). Why is this verse placed
here, of all places??
Earlier this week Rabbi Yehoshua Lewis, the director of the
Rutgers Jewish Experience, cited a commentary by Rabbi Yissochar Frand to
explain to me why this verse is situated within the chapter about Shemitah and
Yovel. He said that both the laws of Shemitah and Yovel, and the injunction
against cheating, share a common underlying principle – that, while we are
urged to work to support ourselves, in the end it is God who provides our
sustenance and He allots exactly what we need in life. If we can truly incorporate
this principle into our daily outlook, we will more easily accept any losses we
may incur and we will not be tempted to cheat to improve our circumstances.
* This week’s Dvar Torah is dedicated to the memory of
Elisheva Gila bat Shemuel, my sister in law Alice Storfer Nackman, z’l, who
passed away on Lag B’Omer.
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