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A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication


Candle Lighting: 8:14
Havdala: 9:21
Note: The Halachic times listed here are from www.myzmanim.com.
A Different Kind of Freedom
By Amital Haas, 11
th
Grade
Parashat Behar begins by detailing the
Shabbat Shabbaton that Bnei Yisrael must
uphold in Israel every seven years, as well as the
year of the Yovel which Bnei Yisrael must
uphold every fiftieth year. The Shmita cycle
contains obvious echoes of Shabbat, which begs
the question, what is the connection between the
two observances? Shabbat, on a weekly scale,
demands us to stop our everyday practices and
live in a state of mind governed by Torah and
rest. The Shmita year, on a much larger scale,
requires us to cease working our land for a full
year. Often, our first response to the concept of
Shmita is to exclaim at its impracticality. How
can we maintain our livelihood while allowing
our land to grow wild? The Rambam suggests
that the Shmita practice actually increases crop
yield. Regardless of whether or not this is true,
the principle of Shmita is based on something
much deeper than monetary growth.
When describing the Yovel, the Torah says:
, , , -
; , ,
- , -
You shall sanctify the fiftieth year, and proclaim a
liberty throughout the land unto all of its inhabitants:
it shall be a jubilee to you, and you shall return every
man to his possessions, and every man to his family.
Rashi explains that dror, liberty, is
synonymous with dor, to live, and teaches that
the Yovel is when all slaves are set free and have
the ability to choose their own homes. All
property is returned, and people have the
obligation to redeem the land of a fellow who is
unable to. This establishes the character of the
Yovel as one of freeing and returning property.


Behar
Friday, May 9, 2014 / ' "
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A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication
The undeniable challenge of these practices is the
reason why they are so important. Hashem
explicitly promises to provide for Bnei Yisrael in
the Shmita and Yoval years; nevertheless, in a
monetary mindset letting go of property and not
working the land seems like asking for poverty.
Hashem asserts the opposite: not only is the
Yovel a time of liberty, but it is the only way that
we can abide with safety in the land.


, - , - , --
- ,
The Shmita and Yovel years are periods,
just like Shabbat, of adjusting our mindset and
reminding ourselves of what is easily forgotten:
our land is not our own. A perception of
complete control over our lives is both unhealthy
and potentially dangerous. In this light, Shmita
and Yovel provide the opportunity for freedom
from complete dependence upon our own
proficiency, and a shift to perceiving Hashems
hand in our lives.
Know Abuse
By Yosef Coleman, 11
th
Grade
This weeks Parashah is known for its
emphasis on the Mitzvot of Shemitah and Yovel.
There are, however, other Mitzvot which are
discussed as well. One such example is the
command to abstain from abusing and
overcharging people. The Torah says:
" - , : , "
And ye shall not wrong one another; but thou shalt
fear thy God; for I am the LORD your God.
What is striking about this Passuk is that
it happens to be one of the few places in the
Torah that says , or thou shalt fear
thy God, right after giving a commandment.
The rationale for employing such phraseology
stems from the notion that this commandment
(as well as other commandments followed by a
similar expression) can be rationalized by




human nature. In other words, one could have
only the best of intentions for exploiting
someone, but at the end of the day, it is still
prohibited. Therefore, one needs extra protection
to keep them from sinning. The purpose of the
words is to add this additional
layer of protection in order to ensure that this
never happens.
In the story of Penina and Channah,
Penina made fun of Channah for being barren, so
that Channah would eventually be able to have
children. Hashem still punished Penina by killing
eight of her ten children. This shows us that one
can never be abusive, even with the best of
intentions, because no good can ever come out of
it.

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A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication
Economy and Equality
By Mrs. Estie Fried
Proclaim liberty throughout the land unto
all the inhabitants thereof is a phrase made
famous by its inscription on the Liberty Bell in
Philadelphia. The first time this phrase was
recorded, though, is in : in this weeks
Parashah as Bnei Yisrael receive the mitzvah of
:
" " This mitzvah is
among several socio-economically themed laws
in . These halachot reflect the infinite wisdom
within our Torah as well as the focus on and
sensitivity to the plight of the common man.
In the or Jubilee year, the fiftieth year
following a cycle of seven , all Jewish
slaves are freed. More significant, however, that
all ancestral land, with some exceptions, was
returned to its original owner. Anyone who may
have needed to sell their land to repay a debt or
another necessity was granted a second chance at
real estate and property ownership.
Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks writes that the
laws with in represent the need for a
moral framework to guide a chosen economic
system. It need not aim at economic equality,
but it must respect human dignity. No one
should be permanently imprisoned in the chains
of debt. No one should be deprived of a stake in
the commonwealthNone of this means
dismantling the market economy, but it may
involve periodic redistribution.
Laissez-faire economics, or any strain of
it, can certainly produce a multitude of wealth,
but it does not necessarily do so in an equitable
fashion. Without any intervention, governmental
or otherwise, the rich only get richer while the
poor continue, and perhaps intensify, their
struggle against poverty. This is where the Torah
comes in. Henry George, a great American social
reformer of the late 19th century, as quoted by
Rabbi Ephraim Buchwald, wrote, It is not the
protection of property, but the protection of
humanity, that is the aim of the Mosaic
codeWith a blast of the Jubilee trumpets, the
slave goes free, and the re-division of the land
secures again to the poorest his fair share in the
bounty of the common Creator. These halachot
do not confirm economic equality in society, but
they do ensure the preservation of human
dignity.
While this is in no way meant to
encourage interference in our free market
economy, taking an honest look at our social
interactions can be implied. It is easy to look
down on someone because of what they do not
have, or worse because of what we do. Every
human being, though, despite their current
social, economic or even Facebook status, should
be the recipient of and experience self-
respect that is rightfully theirs. As Dovid
HaMelech writes in Tehillim " ' "
Nothing we own is solely ours. The mitzvah of
is our reminder.
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A Fuchs Mizrachi Stark High School Publication

Shabbat Table Discussion Questions:
By Avi Hartstone, 10
t h
Grade
1. Why is there a specific prohibition of the avodah zarah of a flooring stone here instead of the prohibition of
avodah zarah in general? (26:1)

2. Why does the parashah need to mention Shabbat if it has been said numerous times before? (26:2)

3. Why does yovel start on yom kippur instead of the beginning of the year? (25:9)

4. Why is yovel every 50 years? (25:10)
Email us at FMSshemesh@gmail.com with your answers or submit them on our website, fmsdvartorah.weebly.com, and you could be featured in
next week's edition!

Brought to you by:
Staff:
Editors in Chief- Ari Bar-Shain and Zev Karasik

Associate Editors- Eli Meyers, Etan Soclof, and Yosef
Coleman

Faculty Consultant-Rav Rick Schindelheim

Distribution Manager-Rivka Coleman

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Head Writers-Avi Hartstone and Zak Fleischman
Student Writers:
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o Bentzion Goldman
o Ian Lorand
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