PARSHA POSTS: BEHAR | The Blogs

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May 26, 2025, 11:08 PM

Behar-Bechukotai: A Temporal Utopia

'Green Covered Land Under Blue Sky' by Sitraka (2019) via Unsplash

Behar-Bechoukotai begins with the first mention of shemitah, the sabbatical year, G-d telling the Jewish people via Moshe that ‘שבתה הארץ שבת לה, ‘the land Within this framework, G-d commands that the shemitah year be ‘a year of complete...

May 24, 2025, 1:56 AM

Liberty’s Inscription Is Ours, Too

“Proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof.” —Leviticus 25:10, inscribed on the Liberty Bell On this Memorial Day weekend, as we read Parashat Behar, we find ourselves confronted by both ancient wisdom and present sorrow. This week’s...

Benjamin G. Kelsen

May 24, 2025, 1:42 AM

Defending Our People, Upholding Our Values

Defending Our People, Upholding Our Values: Behar-Bechukosai’s Message to Our Generation Parshas Behar-Bechukosai outlines a Torah-based framework for an ethical society rooted in responsibility, compassion, and enduring values. These parshiyos are not merely legal or agricultural instructions. They represent a...

May 23, 2025, 6:22 PM

Parshah through the Mediator’s Lens: Behar-Bechukotai

This week’s double Torah portion, Behar-Bechukotai (Leviticus 25:1–27:34), presents insights into justice, fairness, and societal balance; concepts at the heart of mediation and dispute resolution. A Brief Overview of Behar-Bechukotai The portion of Behar introduces the revolutionary concepts of the Sabbatical...

May 23, 2025, 6:07 PM

Leviticus: Redemption as Return, Redemption as Ascent

Leviticus affirms the sanctity of life, presenting a divine order where existence is inherently good and structured. God instructs the Israelites to build the Tabernacle with precision (Exodus 25:8–9), and their enthusiastic donations of labor and materials reflect their...

May 23, 2025, 6:00 PM

I Will Grant You Peace In The Land…

“If you go in the way of my statues… I will grant you peace in the land" (Vayikra 26:3-6). Parshas Bechukosai opens with this divine promise. The general principle of Torah is “Love your neighbor as yourself,” and as...

William Hamilton

May 23, 2025, 5:18 PM

“I am a Jew.” These were the last words spoken by The Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl before his 2002 execution. I recall someone saying back then, these chosen-words said more about his killers than they may have...

May 23, 2025, 9:09 AM

Behar-Behukkotai: Beginnings, Endings, In-Between

Am Yisrael Chai By Simonafaustyna - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, Source: Wikimedia Commons

In Judaism we have beginnings, we have endings, and we have the in-between. For example: Shabbat starts, it ends, and we make havdalah separating it from the new week. We are still mourning Sarah and Yaron, the tragic end of two beautiful Jewish lives....

May 23, 2025, 7:03 AM

Why I’m breaking up with the two-party system

Republican Elephant, Democrat Donkey (via Shutterstock)

We need to stop outsourcing our thinking to the political echelons; neither party represents Judaism - and neither guarantees Jewish safety (Behar/Bechuotai)

May 23, 2025, 6:16 AM

Quantum Mechanics in the Mikva and the Grapes.

The relationship between the Torah and quantum mechanics is a subject that has fascinated both scientists and Torah scholars. In this article, I aim to show how the rules and wisdom of the Torah actually reflect and even anticipate...

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