Beit Rabban Parashah Page פרשת בהר-בחקתי Parashat Behar-Bechukotai ויקרא כה:א-כז:לד Leviticus 25:1-27:34 This week we conclude the book of Leviticus with another double portion: parshiyot Behar and Bechukotai. Parashat Behar talks extensively about people who fall into poverty. It describes a person who, no longer able to support themselves, attaches themselves to someone else’s household and serves them in order to survive and hopefully eventually regain their freedom. The Torah gives strict guidelines about how this means of support and semi-servitude must work, and many cautions about not taking unfair advantage of someone else’s bad luck. Why do you think these guidelines are important? What can we learn from this about how we think about and treat the people who work for us? No matter what, all slaves and servants must be released in the Jubilee year, and the reason teaches us something about our relationship to HaShem (Lev. 25:55): כִּי-לִּי בְנֵי-יִּשְרָ אֵל, עֲבָדִּים--עֲבָדַי הֵם, For it is to me that the Israelites are אֲשֶׁר-הֹוצֵאתִּי אֹותָםמֵאֶׁרֶׁ ץ servants: they are my servants, whom I מִּצְרָ יִּם: אֲנִּי, ה' אֱֹלהֵיכֶׁם. :freed from the land of Egypt I, Adonai your God. It seems like a paradox that we were freed in order to be servants. In what ways is being a servant of HaShem different from being a servant of another person? Why might it be important to know that we can never be slaves to other people? In what ways do you serve HaShem in your life and with your community? How does your Jewish observance create freedom in your life? As we conclude the book of Leviticus, part of which is also called the Holiness Code, we recite “Chazak, Chazak, V’Nitchazek.” May we continue to feel the strength and holiness within us that connects us to our family, friends, community, and HaShem. .