Bechukotai
Leviticus 26:3 - 27:34

The Book of Leviticus ends with these two portions, which are often read together as a double portion. After the Children of Israel inherit that land of Canaan, the laws of Shemittah and Yovel will take effect. For six years the land can be sown and harvested. During the seventh year, the land must remain fallow. They could not sow, harvest, or reap any produce. In a similar way, a cycle of seven Shemittah years (forty-nine) would be followed by the fiftieth Jubilee year (yovel). During the yovel period, Hebrew slaves were to be set free, and all lands were to revert back to their original possessors. The price of land that was sold was to be based on the number of years remaining until the yovel.

Land that was sold because of its owner’s poverty could be redeemed by a relative of the original owner or by the original owner himself. If someone were to sell a house in a walled city, then he would have a year during which he could redeem it back. If he did not redeem it during this time, the sale remained permanent. Houses in villages and in the Levitical cities would revert back to their original owners during the yovel. One should lend money to Jews free of interest. Jews sold into indentured servitude were to be treated with respect. We are commanded to be honest in business and not embarrass anyone.

In the final parsha, Bechukotai, a charge is given to the Children of Israel to follow all of the chukim and mishpotim ordained by G-d. A choice is given and the consequences of failing to obey them are set forth. If a person set aside property to be dedicated to the Sanctuary, it became holy. People who were dedicated by their families for Temple service had special valuations based on age and gender. Kosher animals could be dedicated as well. First born animals cannot be dedicated since they are already given a special status as being consecrated to G-d as bekorot or “firstlings”. They can be redeemed for set valuations as outlined. The parsha ends with a reminder that all that has been presented was given to Moses and the Jewish people at Mt. Sinai.

There is a cliché which states, “Caveat Emptor”; let the buyer beware. In business, it is up to the purchaser to make sure he gets what he pays for. Advertisements can be deceiving and if you see a deal that seems too good to be true, it probably isn’t. “Business if business”, we hear people say. A good businessman can boast about how he took over a ruined the competition. More often than not, this means putting someone out of work.

This is specifically addressed in the Torah (Vayikra 25:14):

“And if you sell something to your fellow man, or buy anything from the hand of your fellow, you shall not wrong one another”

The laws of ona’ah (fraud) are complex and deal with over valuations, under payments, as well as selling defective merchandise. The Talmud in Bava Kamma (119a) writes:

“Whenever someone steals even the smallest coin from another person, it is considered as if he has taken his soul.”

The Ramchal (Rabbi Moshe Chaim Luzzato) writes in his treatise “Mesillas Yesharim (The Path of the Just)”:

“It is very easy for a person to fall prey to sin in regards to deceiving a customer. A person might consider it proper to attempt to make his merchandise attractive and use sales talk on his customers to make them more receptive. But if a person is not careful, he will violate the prohibition against deceiving others.”

Not only may a merchant not deceive a customer, it is forbidden for a customer to deceive a merchant. This would involve wasting the merchant’s time by looking at something he has no intention of buying, under paying, or by depriving the merchant of a livelihood (parnassah) by speaking loshen hara against him. Rabbi Yisroel Salanter used to say: “Just as a Jew checks his eggs for bloodspots to make sure its kosher, so too should he check his money to make sure it’s kosher.” The Talmud in Shabbos 31a states that when a person dies and goes for final judgment, he will be asked six questions. The first question will be whether or not he was honest in business!

The following verses (Vayikra 25:17) command us not to hurt the feelings of one another: “And you shall not hurt the feelings of one another, but you shall fear your Lord, for I G-d, am your Lord.” In the Talmud Bava Metzia, there is a discussion about monetary fraud (ona’ah) and fraud with words (ona’ah devarim). This is especially critical as the verse in the Torah ends with a reminder that these mitzvos are commanded by G-d. Recall that loshen hara (evil speech) and rechilus (tale bearing) are considered to be sins worse than sexual immorality. The Torah reminds us to “fear the Lord” because what may seem to be an innocent or secret remark, is still heard by G-d! Causing anguish or embarrassment for someone is strictly prohibited in the Torah. We are even cautioned against reminding someone about past deeds for which they have since repented.

The Talmud provides and interesting story about this:

“Rabbi Shimon ben Gamliel told Tavi, his servant, to go to the market and buy some meat that is good. His servant returned home with tongue, He then told him to go to the market and buy some meat that is bad. His servant again returned home with tongue. When the great sage asked him about this, Tavi replied: From the tongue can come both good and bad. When it’s good, there is nothing better. When it’s bad, there is nothing worse.”

The prohibition about charging interest(ribis) or even accepting it is a complex issue. Gemach or “free loan societies” were set up in Eastern Europe to make sure that interest is never charged. Interest can also be linked to produce and commodities as well as rent and investments. This must remain distinct from making a legitimate profit on a business venture since the sages (and the Torah) were not out to stifle business dealings necessary to a thriving economy. The Talmud, in Bava Metzia chapter 5, discusses the details of ribis more extensively. From the Steinsaltz edition (page 4) we read:

“The mishnah describes a case(of ribis) where the parties agree to link the value of a debt to a series of commodities. By this means, then lender takes advantage of anticipated seasonal price rises and so earns a return on his money, without technically charging interest.”

“According to the mishnah’s ruling, the parties are permitted to making commodity linkage, but only if the borrower actually has a sufficient quantity of the new commodity in his possession at each stage. However, if the borrower does not actually have the commodities in his possession, even if they are readily available in the marketplace, this practice is forbidden by Rabbinic law.”

“Why did the Rabbis distinguish between a case where the borrower has the commodities in his possession and a case where he does not? Rashi and the other early commentators (the Rishonim) explain as follows: The actual facts of the transaction are quite simple. The lender gave the borrower a sum of money, and received in return a larger sum. All the linkages in the middle were merely accounting techniques. However, even though the ‘sales’ were never anything but a legal fiction to avoid Rabbinic prohibition, the Rabbis agreed to treat the linkages as bon fide sales, and to consider the interest as legitimate profit form the sales, provided that the various commodities did actually pass into the possession of the lender. On the other hand, if the borrower did not actually have the commodities in his possession, the Rabbis refused to sanction the ‘sales’, since they had no basis in reality.”

The laws of Shemittah are important since they concern emunah and bitachon (faith and trust in g-d). If the people were concerned how they would provide for themselves, G-d assures them that if the laws are faithfully observed, then enough food would be produced in the sixth year to carry them over through the seventh

(Shemittah year). This was similar to the extra portion of manna that fell on the sixth days since no manna fell on the seventh (Shabbos). These same assurances are given to us regarding the giving of tzedakah and conducting business honestly. If faithfully observed, we will not lose our livelihood over them.

The Chofetz Chaim used to own a small grocery store to support himself and his family. His wife ran the store while he dedicated himself to studying Torah. He would, however, always check the weights and balances so that there would never be any question of his honesty. In fact, his store was so popular, even with the non-Jews, that he would often tell his wife to close the store early so as not to take business away from other shopkeepers!

The Torah states, in pasrsha Bechukotai, that we should follow all of the ordinances (mishpotim), statutes (chukim), and laws (tohorot) given at Mt. Sinai. Usually, when the Torah tells us to follow the commandments, it refers to the first two. Why is the third term, tohorot, necessary? Rashi interprets this extra term to refer to the two Torahs (tohorot is plural) given to Moses. One is the written Torah and the other is the oral (as represented by the Talmud and its two parts; the mishnah and gemara). These two componets form a whole unit of concepts that the Torah commanded us to follow.

Sefer Vayikra focused on holiness. Holiness involved some ritualistic concepts that were and still are hard to understand. However, these laws (such as the laws of purity and atonement) were coupled with practical civil laws dealing with inter-personal relationships. Both are vital, the Torah teaches us, to achieve the level of kodashim a Jew seeks.