Behar 5776

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Parshat Behar 19 Iyar 5776 27 May 2016

Shabbat Kabbalat Shabbat

19:00

(Candle Lighting)

19:40

Shacharit

09:15

Leining

10:15

Power Kiddush

11:00

Mincha, Seudah & Ma’ariv

21:25

Shabbat terminates

22:35

Weekday

Security team: Grey

Page No.s Artscroll Gutnick Hertz

Leining

Haftarah

696 810 531

1176 1441 539

Thought For The Week

Shacharit

Mincha & Ma’ariv

Sun

09:00

19:30

Mon*

09:00

19:30

Tues

07:00

19:30

In the seventh year of the Shmitta cycle as

as easily as it was earned. Even in modern

Wed

07:00

19:30

Thur

07:00

19:30

described in our Parasha, the land in Eretz

societies which are not directly depen-

Fri

07:00

19:30**

Yisrael is supposed to be left unfarmed,

dent on agriculture, we must remember

* Bank Holiday ** Mincha & Kabbalat Shabbat

and whatever grows can be enjoyed by

to daven to Hashem for our livelihood,

Chayim Arukim

anyone, not just the land’s owner. The

because economic security is far from

next mitzvah we read about is Yovel – the

guaranteed.

to Gill Brownson on the loss of her mother, and to all those who have Yahrzeit this week as follows ‫שבת‬

May 28 20 Iyar

Let It Go

jubilee year every 50 years when all land reverts to its original owners and slaves

The farmer who leaves his land unfarmed

Jackie Cohen Gerald Adlestone

Father Father

are released. This resets the economic

every seventh year, and allows his neigh-

clock, as it were, to ensure that people

bours to come and help themselves to

29 May 21 Iyar

Hilary Goorney

Mother

do not fall into permanent poverty. The

whatever grows there, demonstrates his

Mon

Rosalind Price Harvey Beaver

Mother Mother

rest of the Parasha deals with the laws of

faith and generosity. The Sefer HaChinuch

Tues

Simon Ellenbogen Paul Nathan

Father Mother

tzedaka – helping those who fall on hard

explains that these mitzvot teach us to ‘let

times by lending them money without

go’, so that we do not become obsessed

Simon Margolis Ivor Lefton

Father Father

charging interest.

with our material wealth. They remind

Barry Stewart Sheila Sheldon Adam & Emma Levine Trevor Duschenes Nicola Scorah

Sister Mother Mother Wife Mother

Freda Freedman Luis & Tracy Labaton Shirley Horwich

Father Daughter Father

Sun

30 May 22 Iyar 31 May 23 Iyar

Wed

1 June 24 Iyar

Fri

3 June 26 Iyar

‫שבת‬

4 June 27 Iyar

The unveiling for Philip Braunstein’s mother will take place on Sunday, at 12:00pm, at Failsworth Cemetery.

us to always be grateful to Hashem for The Shmitta and Yovel mitzvot remind

whatever we are blessed with and share

us that the land - specifically the land of

it with whoever is needy.

Israel – belongs to Hashem, and we use

Rabbi Joel Portnoy

it with His permission and in accordance with His instructions. In fact, anything we own is really only on loan – it can be lost

Shabbat Weather AM Partly Cloudy 20o High 8o Overnight Low

Parsha

verview

First Aliyah - 13 verses The laws of Sh’mitah (Sabbatical) and Jubilee years are discussed.

Every seventh year, it is forbidden to work the land (in the Land of Israel). After 49 years (7x7), a Jubilee year is proclaimed. In addition to the regular Sabbatical laws, all slaves are set free and all lands revert to their original owners.

Second Aliyah - 5 verses Business ethics are discussed. The value of real estate is dependent on how many years remain until the next Jubilee.

Third Aliyah - 6 verses G-d reassures us that the sixth year’s harvest will produce enough to provide for three years, until the crop of the eighth year is ready to eat. The Torah also mentions that land can only be leased until the Jubilee year.

Fourth Aliyah - 4 verses A person can “redeem” his land from a purchaser after two years from the date of purchase but must pay the remaining value until the Jubilee year. A relative of the seller may also redeem the land on behalf of his family member.

Fifth Aliyah - 10 verses All the laws mentioned above apply to fields and homes in unwalled cities. Homes in walled cities become permanently owned by the buyer after one year (until the next Jubilee). The homes and fields in the forty-eight Levite cities are always redeemable. We must help our brethren before they become financially ruined and dependent on the help of others. We are also forbidden to charge interest on a loan to a fellow Jew. Sixth Aliyah - 6 verses Slaves must be treated respectfully, never subjecting them to demeaning labor.

Seventh Aliyah - 11 verses When redeeming a Jewish slave, his value until the next Jubilee must also be taken into account.

The parsha ends with a caution against idolatry and mentions Shabbat.

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Delve into the deeper side of Judaism This week we take a look at the mitzvah of giving charity

Give And Take The Torah commands (Vayikra 25:35), “And if your brother becomes poor and his means fail him with you, you shall support him, even if he a convert or a righteous gentile (who fulfills the Seven Noachide Laws) so that he may live with you”.

someone as soon as his means begin to fail him and not delay until he is bankrupt.

This verse teaches that it is an obligation to extend financial aid to a fellow Jew or righteous non-Jew who needs a loan or charity. It is a mitzvah to lend or give him money for conducting business or some necessary transaction for which he lacks the means.

It is an art to give charity wisely, without embarrassing the receiver. Whenever Rabbeinu Yonah heard

The Torah emphasises that we should put him back on his feet before he is reduced to bankruptcy and has to accept charity.

If a donkey begins to stumble under its burden, one man possesses sufficient strength to adjust the load on its back or remove some of it so that it is able to walk further. Once the donkey has collapsed, though, even five ablebodied men cannot pull it to its feet.

Similarly, we should help

Although the explicit mitzvah to give tzedakah to the needy is mentioned in Parshat Re’eh, the Midrash elaborates upon the topic here too:

When giving charity, the pauper gives his benefactor more than benefactor gives the pauper. that a wealthy man had lost all his money but was ashamed to ask for charity, he used to visit him in his house and tell him, “I have good newsfor you! I heard that you became heir to the fortune of someone who lives overseas. Meanwhile, please accept a little loan from me! You can pay me back as soon as you take possession of the money.”

Whenever the borrower reestablished himself and came to pay his debt, Rabbeinu Yonah would tell him

to keep it as a gift.

There was a chamber in the Beit Hamikdash called ‘The Chamber of Secret Gifts’. G-d fearing Jews donated money there, and poor people anonymously received it and were able to live from it.

When Rabbi Elazar noticed a pauper walking behind him, he purposely dropped some money, giving him the impression that he had dropped it by accident. The pauper would pick it up and try to return it, but Rabbi Elazar would refuse to take it back.

When giving charity, the pauper gives his benefactor more than the benefactor gives the pauper. While the donor merely spends material wealth, he receives in return an inestimable wealth of spiritual merits which far surpass what he gave away.

Moreover, we are told that by giving tzedakah, a person can be saved from harsh judgement in Gehinnom.

Based on ‘The Midrash Says’

by Rabbi M. Weiss

If you would like to share your words of wisdom, please submit your article of no more than 500 words to nick@hale-community.org.uk

Parsha Stats Behar is the 32nd of 54 sedras 9th of 10 in Vayikra Written on 99 lines in a Torah 57 verses - ranks 50th (last in Vayikra) 737 words - ranks 50th (last in Vayikra) 2817 letters - ranks 50th (last in Vayikra)

Did You Know This week’s parsha mentions 24 of the 613 mitzvot. 7 are positive mitzvot, and 17 are prohibitions. Only 7 parshiyot contain more mitzvot.

One of the key messages of shemittah is that Hashem is concerned about and oversees even the most mundane things in this world. He cares about us, and even our trees and fields.

A significant percentage of the Jewish legal code focuses on Business Ethics. This is in order to reward us for behaviours and traits that come naturally to most people.

QA &

Read through the Parsha in English and find answers to the questions.

LOLLIPOPS WILL BE AWARDED TO ANYONE WHO READS THROUGH IT, AND TELLS RABBI NICK THE CORRECT ANSWERS!

Who may eat from your land in the year of Shemittah?

What happens on the Yom Kippur during the Jubilee Year?

What happens to a person’s land in the Jubilee Year?

Why can you not work a fellow Jew like a slave?

What type of floor is it forbidden to bow down on?

How many times is the Jubilee Year mentioned in this week’s parsha?

Hashem would miraculously provide enough crops in the sixth year to cover the seventh, and into the eighth, until the new crops would grow.

However, in a Jubilee year, the sixth year would yield enough food to last into the ninth year, since Years 49 and 50 were both treated as shemitah years.

Just For Fun

Question: How do we know all the Jews had headaches at Mount Sinai?

Answer: Because Moses gave them two tablets!

LAST WEEK’S ANSWERS: 1. Mother, Father, Sister, Brother, Son, Daughter, Spouse.

3. Three. 4. Yes. 5. An Eye For An Eye, etc.

BONUS: Chanukah & Purim.

2. 12.

L

KING AHEAD

SHAVUOT

In The Spotlight Rabbi Aharon & Elisheva Bloch

EDUCATION

We are delighted to announce that Rabbi Aharon & Elisheva Bloch have taken up their posts as Directors of Adult Education for the Hale Adult Hebrew Education Trust.

They arrived in Hale this week, and are greatly looking forward to meeting the members, welcoming them to their home in due course, and providing enriching and inspirational learning programmes. As with previous Directors, they are both available for private learning sessions, or facilitating learning sessions with other teachers from the Partners In Torah network.

BEYOND HALE

The Blochs are Hale’s first exclusively foreign directors. Rabbi Aharon is originally from Melbourne, and Elisheva is Israeli. They have a son, Yosef, who is two years old, and is greatly looking forward to starting at the Nursery in the coming weeks.

We welcome the Blochs to the community, and we wish them every success in the coming years.

Kiddushim 28 May Power Kiddush 4 June Caroline & Charles Levine If you would like to sponsor an edition of ‘Something For Everyone’, in honour of a simcha or for a yahrzeit, or for any reason, please contact the Shule office on 0161 980 8846 or admin@hale-community.org.uk

11 June Unsponsored