SL30 Behar-Bechukotai

Bnei Akiva Israel Week
This week is Bnei Akiva Israel Week! There will be many events across
the UK showing our support for Israel in the good times as well as the
bad. Below are some of the events coming throughout the week.
Sunday 9th May: Stuart Polak, Director of Conservative Friends of
Israel, will be speaking at LSJS on the topic of „Prospects for Israel
following the General Election‟. Starts 19:30.
Monday 10th May: Rafi Nassi, Jewish Agency Aliyah Shaliach, will be
speaking at London Limmud. Chavrutot start at 19:30 with talk at 20:30.
Birmingham Limmud will take place at 18:00 with Israeli-themed learning.
Tuesday 11th May: Festive Yom Yerushalayim tefilla at both the London
and Manchester Batim. London – starts at 18:45 and is followed by
schwarma tasting with newspaper critic Josh Cohen. Manchester – starts
at 20:00 including free dinner and a talk by Rabbi Kanterovitz.
Wednesday 12th May: Festive Yom Yerushalayim tefilla at the London
Bayit starting at 8:00 followed by breakfast. Later there will be a Yom
Yerushalayim Party for the whole community at Edgware Adath, 265 Hale
Lane, Edgware. Doors open at 18:30. Event features tefilla, live music,
Israeli dinner and a talk by Rav Cobi Ebraimoff, Deputy Head of
Independent Jewish Day School. Please e-mail [email protected] to reserve
your place. There will be a small charge for food.
Shabbat 14th/15th May: Israeli-style Minyan at Hendon United
Synagogue starting at 19:30 followed by Bogrim‟s meal at Rav Ilan‟s home.
Bogrim‟s lunch in the Manchester Bayit on Shabbat. Also, watch out for
Bnei Akiva sponsored Israeli kiddushim in a youth service near you.
Come to LSD on Shabbat afternoon…
Edgware: For Years 10-13 in Edgware Adath.
Manchester: For Years 9-13 in the Bayit.
Pinner: For Years 6-13 in Pinner Shul.
85
Days Until
Machane!
Manchester Bayit Minyan Times
Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat 19:00
Shacharit 9:30 Mincha 15:30 Ma‟ariv 21:52
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai 5770
Volume 16 Issue 30
Shabbat Lashem
Joni Kleiman, Hachsharat Torani
One of the main focuses of Parashat Behar is the laws pertaining to Shmitta, not
working the land every seventh year: ’ ‫כי תבאו אל הארץ אשר אני נתן לכם ושבתה הארץ שבת לה‬
(Vayikra 25:2).
A question arises from the phrasing of the pasuk. Why does it need to say ’ ‫שבת לה‬, it is
a Shabbat for Hashem? Aren‟t all mitzvot intended to be for Hashem? There are a few
answers to this question. Firstly, it says ’ ‫ שבת לה‬to show that leaving the land fallow is
not just a good piece of farming advice, but rather as we see from the fact that the
Torah mentions rewards and punishments, it is a mitzvah intended for the sanctification
of Hashem, much like the seventh day of the week, Shabbat.
The Kli Yakar also expounds upon this particular part of the verse. He says that the
reason is so that we do not become arrogant and feel that it is agricultural power that
has produced such a great crop but rather remember that Hashem gave us the land and
that only He holds the power to produce a good or poor crop. Additionally it is to
show the special quality of the land. There have been many instances where bountiful
crops have been grown in Israel in places where it would seem impossible for anything
to grow. The Torah is emphasising how this is not the world working in its natural way
but rather it is Hashem giving the Land of Israel a unique power.
The seventh year holds further significance. In Gemara Megilla (18a) it says that the
beginning of the geula will start in the seventh year, further showing the importance of
the shmitta year in Judaism.
Furthermore Parashat Behar falls in the middle of the period in which we celebrate Yom
Ha‟atzmaut and Yom Yerushalayim. Just as we remember Hashem with regards to the
miracles He performs for agriculture so too we thank Hashem on these days. We show
recognition of the miracles that occurred in setting up and maintaining the state of Israel
and that allow us to live in this land full of holiness, beauty and Burgers Bar.
Sponsored by Jessica & Sam Caplan on the occasion of Jessica’s birthday.
If you would like to sponsor an issue, please email [email protected] after Shabbat!
If there is no Eruv in your area, please do not carry this daf home on
Shabbat. Also, please do not fold, tear, burn or tie this daf in a knot.
London
Manchester
20:19
20:34
21:31
21:52
Deep Roots
Rav Shmuel Eliyahu
Biography
‫יתי ַא ְב ָר ָהם ֶאזְ כֹר וְ ָה ָא ֶרץ ֶאזְ כֹר‬
ִּ ‫יתי יִּ ְצ ָחק וְ ַאף ֶאת ְב ִּר‬
ִּ ‫יתי יַ ֲעקוֹ ב וְ ַאף ֶאת ְב ִּר‬
ִּ ‫וְ זָ כַ ְר ִּתי ֶאת ְב ִּר‬
However, since this pasuk is part of davening on Rosh Hashanah and Yom
Kippur and is mentioned in a positive form in order to awaken Hashem‟s
memory and therefore His mercy, it seems more likely to view this pasuk as
an island of hope within despair. According to this understanding we have a
pasuk of nechama (comfort) „planted‟ into the curses. Surely the curses
would have a stronger effect if we were not comforted in the middle of
them. Why then is the nechama mentioned here?
I once heard about a man who was removed from his home during the
Disengagement. He was sure of himself that he would be strong as he
always was in life and that he would not become emotional as the army
came in to their settlement. And yet he found himself weeping strongly. To
this he said: „when you uproot a tree, the deep roots are revealed, which
we would not have recognised otherwise‟.
So too here, when Hashem smites us with all the horrific curses which are
mentioned in the parasha, our deep and well-rooted bond with Hashem is
then revealed. It is then that we may realise that regardless of our deeds
and their rewards or punishments, we as a people are strongly connected to
Hashem. We have a bond that goes as far back as the nation does and it is
this bond that began in the times of Avraham and Sarah which has always
been there. Both at the good moments in our history and at the bad as well,
this bond will forever accompany us as a nation.
Many people have asked for the full source of the Chatam Sofer
mentioned in the edition of Parashat Acharei Mot-Kedoshim:
"‫ בד"ה "אתרוג הכושי‬.‫ בחידושיו לתלמוד על מסכת סוכה בדף לו‬,‫החת"ם סופר‬
‫ואספת דגנך אלא בא "י ורוב ישראל‬
‫ רבי ישמעאל נמי לא אמר מקרא‬:‫נלע"ד‬
‫"י ולהוציא פירותיה‬
‫ שהעבודה בקרקע גופה מצוה משום יישוב א‬, ‫שרויין‬
- ‫ ובועז זורה גורן השעורים הלילה‬. ‫ועל זה ציותה התורה ואספת דגנך‬. ‫הקדושים‬
‫הכא נמי לא‬, ‫ לא אניח תפילין מפני שאני עוסק בתורה‬: ‫ וכאילו תאמר‬. ‫משום מצוה‬
‫ואפשר אפילו שארי אומניות שיש‬. ‫ לא אאסוף דגני מפני עסק התורה‬:‫יאמר‬
‫אבל כשאנו מפוזרים בעוונותינו הרבים בין‬. ‫בהם ישוב העולם הכל בכלל מצוה‬
,‫אומות העולם וכל שמרבה העולם יישוב מוסיף עבודת ה ' חורבן מודה ר "י לרשב "י‬
‫ועל זה אנו סומכים על ר ' נהוראי במתני ' סוף קידושין מניח אני כל אומ ניות שבעולם‬
.‫ היינו בח"ל וכנ"ל‬- ‫ואיני מלמד בני אלא תורה‬
Find out what leading Religious Zionist Rabbis think!
The parasha begins with nine pesukim of reward if we choose to obey
Hashem. After, there is an extended elaboration of curses if we choose not
to. The pasuk above is quoted within these pesukim of curses. How is
Hashem remembering the covenant of the fathers and the land a bad thing?
Some commentators have explained that this is indeed expressing a
problem. It would be one thing if a nation sins, but for the nation that
descended from Avraham, Yitzchak and Yaakov, which has such a strong
bond with the holy land of Israel – it is far worse.
AN INTERVIEW WITH…
PEIROT HA’ILAN
A weekly thought from
Rav Ilan Goldman
I will remember My covenant with Yaakov and also My covenant with Yitzchak; I will also
remember My covenant with Avraham and I will remember the land. (Vayikra 26:42).
Rav Shmuel Eliyahu is the Chief Rabbi of Tsfat and the
son of former Sephardi Chief Rabbi, Mordechai Eliyahu.
Like his father, he is one of the leading figures in
Religious Zionism today. He is active in outreach,
particularly in setting up „garinim‟, groups of religious
families living in secular areas that help to bridge the gap
in society and give a positive impression of Judaism.
What is the future of Religious Zionism in Israel?
“There are many mitzvot in the Torah. Some of the
mitzvot are like the trunk of the tree and some are like
branches; some are like leaves and some are like
flowers, all making up the „Etz Chaim‟, the tree of life
we call Torah. The mitzvot regarded by Chazal as equal
to the whole of Torah are like the trunk, such as the
command to love one‟s neighbour as oneself. The
Religious Zionist society strives to keep the whole of
Torah with all its details from the roots to the trunk
and the branches and naturally to the leaves and
flowers.
We need all of Am Yisrael and all of Eretz Yisrael to
reach the whole of Torah therefore every different part
of the nation contributes to the bigger picture. The
Religious Zionist community contributes to the trunk
for they emphasise the Land and the mitzvot of the
Land, which are emphasised many times in the Torah.”
What is the role for Bnei Akiva in the UK?
“The true foundation of Am Yisrael is mainly in Eretz
Yisrael. As a nation we need to bring a blessing to the
entire world as we have done in the past. World
history has developed from the culture of Am Yisrael.
Bnei Akiva needs to educate its chanichim for Aliyah,
for the building of the nation, for hagshama (actualising
the ideology) and for bringing Am Yisrael to its role of
being a light unto the nations, fulfilling the blessing that
Hashem gave Avraham.”