{"id":30161,"date":"2025-05-23T10:41:57","date_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:41:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/?p=30161"},"modified":"2025-05-23T10:42:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-23T13:42:01","slug":"parashat-behar-at-mount-sinai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tuviaserber.com\/en\/parashat-behar-at-mount-sinai\/","title":{"rendered":"Parashat Behar \u2013 At Mount Sinai"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of this week's reading is called Behar, which means "at the mountain." The first commandment explained if that of the rest of the land in the seventh year. This Mitzvah has a lesson for each one of us. Based on Likutei Sichot vol. 1, p. 273 and other sources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parshat Behar: The Message of Shmita and Mount Sinai<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the Torah portions read this week is called Behar, which literally means "on the mountain," referring to Mount Sinai. This parsha begins by introducing a particular mitzvah (commandment) known in Hebrew as Shmita.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is Shmita?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shmita is the commandment to let the land rest. The Torah instructs that for six years, we are to work the land \u2014 sowing, planting, harvesting, and so on. But in the seventh year, we must let the land rest. Then, after seven cycles of seven years (7 \u00d7 7 = 49), we reach the Yovel (Jubilee) year \u2014 the 50th year, during which the land also remains. This results in two consecutive years of rest: the 49th (the Shmita year of the seventh cycle) and the 50th (the Jubilee year).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is this Parsha Called \u00abBehar\u00bb (On the Mountain)?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The commentators and sages ask: What is the connection between this specific mitzvah \u2014 Shmita \u2014 and Mount Sinai<\/strong>?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, the general idea of the land resting was already mentioned earlier, in Parshat Mishpatim. So why is it repeated here, in greater detail, and why is this parsha specifically called "Behar"?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The answer lies in the principle it teaches: Just as the details of the Shmita commandment were given at Mount Sinai, so too were the details of all<\/em> commandments given at Mount Sinai. Don't think that the Torah only provided general rules and that later, the sages invented the details. That is a mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Parshat Behar is teaching us that both the general principles and the specific details of every mitzvah were given at Mount Sinai. Sometimes the details are written explicitly in the Torah, and sometimes they are alluded to and later clarified by the sages. But they all originated at Sinai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why are some mitzvot detailed clearly, while others are more hidden or alluded to? We don't always know. That is G-d's will. But the fundamental teaching is that every part of the Torah \u2014 both broad and specific \u2014 comes from Sinai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why Use Shmita as the Example?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This raises another question: Why choose Shmita as the example for this teaching? After all, Shmita seems like a very specific and limited mitzvah. It only applies to the Land of Israel, and only once every seven years. Most opinions agree that, biblically, it doesn't even apply today \u2014 only rabbinically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why use this mitzvah to teach such a fundamental concept about all of Judaism?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Deeper Message of Shmita<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let's look deeper. For six years, we worked the land. In the seventh year, we let the land \u2014 and ourselves \u2014 rest. But the goal is not just physical rest. It is spiritual reconnection. We remove ourselves from earthly, mundane labor and focus on Gd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This cycle teaches us that:<\/p>\n\n\n\n