Torah
Trivia for Parshah 32. Behar (Questions
Only)
1.) Can you describe the number of years we are
allowed to plant and harvest crops before allowing the land to rest?
2.)
Amidst the allowance for eating produce that naturally grows during the שבת of the
land, can you describe who is explicitly listed as being able to eat such
produce: a.) ישראל
בני; b.)
slaves; c.) hired servants; d.)
cattle; e.) wild animals;
f.) גרים; g.) widows;
h.) orphans; i.)
the impoverished?
3.)
Can you describe what day the shofar is blown to signal the commencement
of יובל (“yovel,”
the Jubilee)?
4.)
Can you describe the number of occasions that the term, “שבת” (“Shabbat”),
is included within this Parashah?
5.)
Can you describe to whom the land returns during the יובל: a.)
the king; b.) the Levites;
c.) the High Priest; d.)
the גרים; e.)
the slaves; f.) the original families; and/or g.)
Adonai?
6.)
Can you discern, with all additional circumstances being equal, whether
an area of land that is sold 20 years before יובל has a higher market value than the same area of land sold 1
year before יובל?
7.)
Can you describe the number of years the land actually remains unplanted
and uncultivated amidst יובל?
8.)
Can you describe the number of years a seller has to redeem a dwelling
within a walled city before it becomes the “permanent property” of the buyer: a.) 1
year; b.) 6 years;
c.) 7 years; d.) 49
years; and/or, e.) 50 years?
9.)
Can you describe the tribe whose dwellings within a walled city are an
exception, and are redeemable, and are released during יובל?
10.)
Can you describe whether charging interest on a loan to an impoverished ישראלי is
permitted or prohibited?
11.)
Can you describe which of the following treatments, from purchasers,
are: a.)
explicitly prescribed towards ישראלי purchased
servants; b.) explicitly prohibited towards ישראלי purchased servants;
and/or c.) explicitly permitted
towards גרים purchased servants?
12.)
Can you describe who is explicitly listed as having the responsibility,
and/or ability, for redeeming an Israeli servant from a גר who purchases such a servant:
a.) a close relative; b.) a
far; c.)
a brother; d.) an oncle;
e.) a cousin; f.) a
wife; g.) a husband;
h.) a mor; i.)
himself; and/or, j.) herself?
Torah
Trivia for Parashah 32. Behar (with
Answers)
1.) Can you describe the number of years we are
allowed to plant and harvest crops before allowing the land to rest?
Answer: The land
is permitted to be planted and harvested for 6 years before the 7th
year, a year of rest:
“When you enter the land that I assign to you, the
land shall observe a Sabbath of the LORD.
Six years you may sow your field and six years you may prune your
vineyard and gather in the yield. But in
the seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest, a Sabbath of
the LORD: you shall not sow your field
or prune your vineyard. You shall not
reap the aftergrowth of your harvest or gather the grapes of your untrimmed
vines; it shall be a year of complete
rest for the land.” (Vayikra 25:2 – 5).
2.)
Amidst the allowance for eating produce that naturally grows during the שבת (Shabbat) of the land, can you describe who is
explicitly listed as being able to eat such produce: a.) ישראל בני
(Israelis); b.) slaves;
c.) hired servants; d.)
cattle; e.) wild animals;
f.) גרים; g.) widows;
h.) orphans; i.)
the impoverished?
Answer: The proceeding are explicitly listed:
a.)
ישראל
בני;
b.) slaves;
c.) hired servants;
d.) cattle;
e.) wild animals;
Whilst the remaining individuals abstain from being
explicitly listed, it may be considered that each is permitted to similarly
each from such produce:
“But you may eat whatever the land during the Sabbath
will produce—you, your male and female slaves, the hired and bound laborers who
live with you, and your cattle and the beasts in your land may eat all its
yield.” (Vayikra 25:6 – 7).
3.)
Can you describe what day the shofar is blown to signal the commencement
of יובל (“yovel,”
the Jubilee)?
Answer: The
shofar is blown on Yom Kippur, on the 49th year, to signal the
commencement of יובל:
“You shall count off seven weeks of years—seven times
seven years—so that the period of seven weeks of years gives you a total of
forty-nine years. Then you shall sound
the horn loud; in the seventh month, on
the tenth day of the month—the Day of Atonement—you shall have the horn sounded
throughout your land and you shall hallow the fiftieth year.” (Vayikra 25:8 – 10).
4.)
Can you describe the number of occasions that the term, “שבת” (“Shabbat”),
is included within this Parashah?
Answer: The term,
“שבת,”
appears on at least 9 occasions, in different forms:
Vayikra 25:2 (twice), 25:4 (thrice), 25:5, 6, 8,
and 26:2;
with presumably similar renderings of the term that
occur on at least 2 occasions, “ושבתם” (presumably pronounced, “v’shevatem),”
and, “וישבתם” (presumably
pronounced, “veeshevatem”), within passages that reference harmonious
coexistence with the land:
Vayikra 25:10, 19.
5.)
Can you describe to whom the land returns during the יובל: a.)
the king; b.) the Levites;
c.) the High Priest; d.)
the גרים (“gerim”, strangers) e.)
the slaves; f.) the original families; and/or g.)
Adonai?
Answer: During
יובל, the
land is returned to: f.) the original families who are provided with
such stewardship:
“You shall proclaim release throughout the land for
all its inhabitants. It shall be a
jubilee for you: each of you shall
return to his holding and each of you shall return to his family.” (Vayikra 25:10);
However,
it may also be considered that, ultimately, the land is returned to g.) Adonai:
“But the land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for
the land is Mine; you are but strangers
resident with Me. Throughout the land
that you hold, you must provide for the redemption of the land.” (Vayikra 25:23 -24).
6.)
Can you discern, with all additional circumstances being equal, whether
an area of land that is sold 20 years before יובל has a higher market value than the same area of land sold 1
year before יובל?
Answer:
Prima facie, the answer is: Yes,
an area of land sold 20 years before יובל has a higher market value than the same area of land sold 1
year before יובל:
“When you sell property to your neighbour, or buy
any from your neighbour, you shall not wrong one another. In buying from your neighbour. You shall
deduct only for the number of years since the jubilee; and in selling to you, he shall charge you
only for the remaining crop years: the
more such years, the higher the price you pay;
the fewer such years, the lower the price; for what he is selling you is a number of
harvests.” (Vayikra 25:14 – 16).
7.)
Can you describe the number of years the land actually remains unplanted
and uncultivated amidst יובל?
Answer:
Although the duration of יובל is
1 year, it occurs after the 7th iteration of the 7th
year, which is a Shabbat of the land, which means that the land actually
remains unplanted and uncultivated for 2 years, the 49th year and
the 50th year:
“And should you ask, ‘What are we to eat in the
seventh year, if we may neither sow nor gather in our crops?’ I will ordain My blessing for you in the
sixth year, so that it shall yield a crop sufficient for three years. When you sow in the eighth year, you will
still be eating old grain of that crop;
you will be eating the old until the ninth year, until its crops come
in.” (Vayikra 25:20 – 22).
8.)
Can you describe the number of years a seller has to redeem a dwelling
within a walled city before it becomes the “permanent property” of the buyer: a.) 1
year; b.) 6 years;
c.) 7 years; d.) 49
years; and/or, e.) 50 years?
Answer: The answer is: a.) 1
year:
“If a man sells a dwelling house in a walled city,
it may be redeemed until a year has elapsed since its sale; the redemption period shall be a year. If it is not redeemed before a full year has
elapsed, the house in the walled city shall pass to the purchaser beyond
reclaim throughout the ages; it shall
not be released in the jubilee.”
9.)
Can you describe the tribe whose dwellings within a walled city are an
exception, and are redeemable, and are released during יובל?
Answer: The walled
city dwellings of Levites are an exception to the rule, and are redeemable
after 1 year, and are released during יובל:
“As for the cities of the Levites, the houses in
the cities they hold—the Levites shall forever have the right of
redemption. Such property as may be
redeemed from the Levites—houses sold in a city they hold—shall be released
through the jubilee; for the houses in
the cities of the Levites are their holding among the Israelites.” (Vayikra 25:32 – 33).
10.)
Can you describe whether charging interest on a loan to an impoverished ישראלי is
permitted or prohibited?
Answer: Charging interest on a loan to an
impoverished ישראלי is
prohibited:
“If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under
your authority, and you hold him as though a resident alien, let him live by
your side: do not exact from him advance
or accrued interest, but fear your God.
Let him live by your side as your kinsman. Do not lend him your money at advance
interest, or give him your food at accrued interest.” (Vayikra 25:35 – 38).
11.)
Can you describe which of the following treatments, from purchasers,
are: a.)
explicitly prescribed towards ישראלי purchased
servants; b.) explicitly prohibited towards ישראלי purchased servants;
and/or c.) explicitly permitted
towards גרים purchased servants?
1.) Being treated like a hired servant;
2.)
Being released during יובל;
3.)
Leaving with one’s children and family;
4.) Returning to one’s hereditary land;
5.)
Being sold within the market as slaves;
6.)
Being mistreated and brutalised;
7.)
Being purchased as a slave;
8.)
Becoming the property of the purchaser;
9.)
Being inherited as property, in perpetuity, by the children of the
purchaser?
Answer:
1.) Being
treated like a hired servant is:
a.) explicitly prescribed towards
ישראלי
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:40);
2.) Being
released during יובל
is: a.)
explicitly prescribed towards ישראלי purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:40);
3.) Leaving
with one’s children and family is:
a.) explicitly prescribed towards
ישראלי
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:41);
4.)
Returning to one’s hereditary land is:
a.) explicitly prescribed towards
ישראלי
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:41);
5.) Being
sold within the market as slaves is:
b.) explicitly prohibited towards
ישראלי
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:42);
6.) Being
mistreated and brutalised is: b.) explicitly prohibited towards Israeli
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:43);
7.) Being
purchased as a slave is: c.) explicitly permitted towards גרים
purchased servants (Vayikra 25:44 – 45);
8.) Being
the property of the purchaser is: c.) explicitly permitted towards גרים
purchased servants, (Vayikra 25:45);
and,
9.) Being
inherited property, in perpetuity, by the children of the purchaser is: c.)
explicitly permitted towards גרים purchased servants, Vayikra (25:46);
It may be considered that the explicit permitted
treatment of גרים purchased
servants is prohibited towards Israeli purchased servants; and that the benevolence provided to Israeli
purchased servants are unrequired for גרים purchased servants:
“If your kinsman under you continues in straits and
must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a
slave. He shall remain with you as a
hired or bound labourer; he shall serve
you only until the jubilee year. Then he
and his children with him shall be free of your authority; he shall go back to his family and return to
his ancestral holding.-- For they are My
servants, whom I freed from the land of Egypt;
they may not give themselves over into servitude.—You shall not rule
over him ruthlessly; you shall fear your
God. Such male and female slaves as you
may have—it is from the nations round about you that you may acquire male and
female slaves. You may also buy them
from among the children of aliens resident among you, or from their families
that are among you, whom they begot in your land. These shall become your property; you may keep them as a possession for your
children after you, for them to inherit as property for all time. Such you may treat as slaves. But as for your Israelite kinsmen, no one
shall rule ruthlessly over the other.”
(Vayikra 25:39 – 46).
12.)
Can you describe who is explicitly listed as having the responsibility,
and/or ability, for redeeming an Israeli servant from a גר who purchases such a servant:
a.) a close relative; b.) a
far; c.)
a brother; d.) an oncle;
e.) a cousin; f.) a
wife; g.) a husband;
h.) a mor; i.)
himself; and/or, j.) herself?
Answer: The people who are explicitly listed with
such a responsibility, and/or ability, are:
a.)
a close relative;
d.) an oncle;
e.) a cousin;
and,
i.) himself;
However, it may be considered that: b.) a
far, and c.) a brother, may be considered as close relatives; and there seems to be certain presumptions
that overlook or deny the involvement of women within such circumstances, and
that seems to include the consideration of a husband’s wife being sold into
such servitude;
“If a resident alien among you has prospered, and
your kinsman being in straits, come under his authority and gives himself over
to the resident alien among you, or to an offshoot of an alien’s family, he
shall have the right of redemption even after he has given himself over. One of his kinsmen shall redeem him, or his
uncle or his oncle’s son shall redeem him, or anyone of his family who is of
his own flesh shal redeem him; or, if he
prospers, he may redeem himself.”
(Vayikra 25:47 – 49).
--
Discussion Questions:
Discussion Questions:
Amidst notion of original families
having fixed plots of land, how does this account for “prosperous” families who
have an additional number of people than the aggregate of the families’
respective ancestors when the land is originally apportioned?
What are the implications regarding the
“permanent ownership” of dwellings within a walled city; what is the intrinsic distinction of such
dwellings; and how does such distinction
influence the manner in which such dwellings are perceived as “property,”
particularly amidst the teaching of all “property” belonging to Adonai?
There is an interesting distinction of
interpretations regarding the issue of charging interest, whereby some
interpretations apply the prohibition of charging interest to both ישראל בני
and גרים, and
some interpretations seem to distinguish between any form of interest, “advanced”
interest, and “accrued” interest; what
is an appropriate understanding of this mitzvah?
Amidst the notion of having one law for
the native and the גרים,
why is there a significant distinction regarding the enslavement of ישראל בני
and the enslavement of גרים?
What is the applicability of the mitzvot
concerning the יובל
amidst the actuality of Israelites acquiring land outside of Eretz Israel?
Regarding Israelite servants, what is
the distinction between being released within the יובל and being released after the period of 6 years as prescribed within
Mishpatim (Shmot 21:2)?
Upon what premise are based the rules
regarding the redemption of an Israelite servant who is sold to a גרים? Is this applicable only to גרים that
live within Eretz Israel or also to Israelite servants who are sold outside of
Eretz Israel? How is this mitzvah
intended to be binding upon the גרים
who make such a purchase, and amidst the any mandatory nature of this mitzvah
upon גרים outside
of Eretz Israel, how is this distinguished from any additional mitzvot; or are all mitzvot effectively, similarly
binding?
No comments:
Post a Comment