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Parsha Behar-Bechukotai – Freedom and Slavery

May 20, 2015 by Russell McAlmond

slavery

Another good example of why Judaism needs to continue to evolve is this week’s parsha.  Slavery is not condemned, but limited, particularly for Jewish slaves.  As modern Jews we know that slavery should never be allowed, but this is more of a modern moral concept than an ancient one.  No one should be allowed to own another individual, Jewish or not, but are there ways that modern people can become slaves in our 21st Century?

Freedom and slavery in our modern day may have different meanings.  For example, if the government took more and more or your earnings in taxation to the point that very little was left for you, aren’t you a slave for the government?  Another example may be if you accumulate large debts and have to work to pay them off – are you free?  You may have seen the bumper sticker that says, “I owe, I owe, so off to work I go.”  Freedom is not all about how much money you have to spend, but it will impact the kind of activities you may desire to do, and aren’t able to, because you lack the necessary funds.

Freedom of speech, thought and religion is also necessary for a free human being.  It is our minds that define us, not our bodies.  Being pressured to think a certain way or being forced to follow a religion is not freedom. In reality, all Jews are Jews of choice because one cannot be forced to be Jewish if they don’t want to identify as such.  This is true of any other religion or ideology.

True freedom is about making the right choices so that you are not a ‘slave’ to another entity or your own debt.  Living within your means, saving for the future and making wise financial decisions will help you have more freedom in life.  Lifelong education and study will also help you be more free since gaining wisdom and enlightenment frees the mind.  Recognizing your own uniqueness and never allowing anyone to label you or put you in a box is a sign of personal freedom.

Live to be free, not a slave, by making good choices.  Your life will be happier and more successful by doing so.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud) Tagged With: choices, D'var Torah, Freedom, Parsha Behar, slavery

Selling Your Daughter And Destructive Oxen: Parshah Mishpatim

January 25, 2011 by Patrick Beaulier

(Subscribe to R. Michael’s weekly D’var Torah at OneShul’s IndieYeshiva by clicking here)

Parshah Mishpatim is focused on, as the name implies, laws, mishpatim being the second word of the portion. In mishpatim Hashem jumps from giving us the Ten Commandments, the basis for our law, and begins to gives us the laws regarding, among many others things, slavery, selling your daughter before puberty, and what happens if you have an ox that destroys your neighbors home.

What does this have to do with us today? More than you may think!

First of all, the question needs to be asked, why, after setting down the ten commandments, the ten mitzvot that are the basis for our relationship with G-d and man, does Hashem run full speed into talking about some crazy slavery laws? For a few reasons.

1. We are watching as G-d takes a bad situation and makes it more fair and compassionate.

Slavery was a big reality at the time, no matter what reservations and objections we have today. G-d was taking what was a terrible practice and trying to humanize it.

Think about this, the Israelites were just freed from slavery in Egypt. G-d is saying, “Remember the hard lives you just had? Well guess what! You can’t do that to anyone else now either!” G-d is grabbing the reigns, so to speak, and gradually re-directing the course of reality. The argument goes that if G-d had come and said “No more slavery!” it would be like trying to teach a caveman to dial a cellphone. It is so outside their realm of understanding that they weren’t ready for it yet. In fact, at the time, being a “bondsman” was a way to sort of “fix your credit”. An Israelite was supposed to choose another Israelite over a slave of another nation, even if they “cost” more, to make sure that one tribesman helped another. And after six years, or the Jubiliee year, they were to be released from their bond. At least there was a light at the end of the tunnel.

2. G-d wants to show us that there is no “realm of religion” in the Creator’s eyes.

Unlike a Western point of view where religion deals solely with spirituality and ritual, or a separation of the Israelite “temple” and civil court, to be a true mensch (a good person) and a chassid (a pious person), you need to be “scrupulous in matters of civil and tort law”. Judaism knows no separation between the court and the Temple.

Ramban tells us that the civil law is an extension of the tenth commandment, forbidding covetousness. So in order to know what not to covet, we have to know the rights and property of others.

3. G-d doesn’t want us to struggle alone.

Towards the end of the portion we find the mention of lending money to our fellows without interest. In fact, the phrasing is “When you lend money”, not “if”. Lending to the poor is not an option, it is obligatory! The commentary states that not only are we to lend money with no expectation of invested return, but by lending, the Torah means attachment, to attach ourselves to their plight. They are not alone when they struggle, and that is what is most important, not letting others struggle alone.

Ultimately we see that in our lives as Jews, there is no realm too large or small where G-d cannot fit. Even in dealing with matters of seemingly unspiritual civil law, we find G-d. I invite you to take the opportunity to look for G-d. Look for G-d somewhere you may not have looked before. You might be surprised where G-d can be found.

Filed Under: Jewish Text (Torah/Haftarah/Talmud), Your Questions Answered Tagged With: church and state, civil, convert to judaism, court, darshan yeshiva, God, Israel, israelite, laws, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, Religion, slave, slavery, ten commandments

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