Blessings and Curses

Bechukotai

Leviticus 26:3 - 27:34

Précis: The parasha, the final parasha in Vayikra, begins with a statement promising blessings if the People follow Adonai’s ways. The blessings are discussed in detail. But if the People disobey, terrible punishments will be visited upon them, and these, too, are listed in agonizing detail. The Book of Leviticus then concludes (as it opened) with regulations regarding the upkeep of the Sanctuary, from voluntary tithes, land gifts, firstborn redemption, and the tithes of flocks.

Lev. 26: 3-16 “If you follow My laws and faithfully observe My commandments, I will grant you rains in their season ... you shall eat your fill of bread....But if you do not obey Me and do not observe all these commandments ... I will wreak misery upon you ....”

These verses leave us unsettled; they clearly do not reflect the world we live in. We know too well that the good are often not rewarded, and that many evil doers go unpunished. We may also have difficulty accepting the concept that there is a God who is so intimately involved in the affairs of each individual human being that His threats and promises are realized in our own lives.

This dilemma is certainly not new. Nahama Leibowitz has suggested that the lists of blessings and curses found here is actually a form of prayer. If only we can avoid the punishments we deserve! If only we are rewarded with blessings for our good deeds! These may not only be prayers, but rather teachings we receive from God to help us exercise the free will which is our blessing and curse.

We are encouraged in the Torah on countless occasions (especially in the Book of Leviticus) to act  in order to be “holy” because “I, the Lord, am holy.” As creatures made in God’s image, as partners in completing the universe, it is our mandate to follow the proscriptions in order for the world to achieve and inherit the promised blessings. The long list of curses serves to describe a connection between the earthly world of reality and the moral world towards which we aspire. The text tells us that despite what our eyes see, there is a connection between the two worlds.

We conclude this year’s study of Vayikra much as we began it: what does it mean to live a “holy” life? How are we “to draw near” to God, and how are we to live a life infused with holiness.

The Moral Limits of the Free Market Economy

B’Har

Leviticus 25:1 - 26:2

Précis: The parasha begins with a description of the Sabbatical Year and the Jubilee (Yovel) Year. In the 50th (Jubilee) Year, we are to “proclaim liberty throughout the land” and property is restored to its ancestral owners. The parasha continues with the prohibition against unlimited slavery, as well as the rules for the treatment of those who are slaves.

Lev. 25:35-39: “If your kinsman is in straits and has to sell part of his land, his nearest redeemer shall come and redeem what the kinsman has sold…If your kinsman, being in straits, comes under your sway as though he was a resident alien, let him live by your side…If your kinsman under you continues in dire straits and must give himself over to you, do not subject him to the treatment of a slave.”

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks has written on  the moral limits of the free market  (Covenant and Conversation, 5/14/12), noting that in much of western society, the rich seem to be getting richer as wealth is concentrated in fewer and fewer hands. He suggests that the thrust of Leviticus 25 is to “correct the tendency toward radical and ever-increasing inequality that results from the unfettered play of free market economics.”

                Rabbi Sacks notes various factors to support his thesis: a Sabbatical year in which debts were released, slaves are freed, the land laid fallow, and land ownership was restored to the ancestral owners.  In the particular verses cited here, we see an additional requirement to help those in need.

               Sacks admits that the Torah’s laws were originally designed for an agricultural civilization which acknowledged God’s sovereignty (His ownership of the land) more than 3,000 years ago. These laws were not designed for a complex global economy with multinational corporate entities. At the same time, there are certain principles to be derived from our inherited tradition as expressed through Torah: Work has dignity, and while we have a Shabbat of rest, we are commanded to work on the other six days. Study without work is not satisfactory (Avot 2.2). Laborers are to be paid promptly and treated fairly. Contracts are to be honored. Courts are to be established to adjudicate disputes impartially, without regard to the wealth of the parties. This part of our tradition suggests a role for government (at least a judiciary), and compassion and fairness for the poorer among us.

               On the other hand, there is at the same time a deep distrust of government in our tradition. The Prophet Samuel warns that a king “will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants ... He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves" (1 Sam. 8). As a people whose formation is found in the Exodus from slavery, it is no surprise that the Prophet Micah suggests a perfect society is one in which each person is able to sit “underneath his own vine and fig tree” (Micah 4:4).

               As Rabbi Sacks acknowledges, the market economy is the greatest system for ending poverty which humanity has devised. Nevertheless, as he states, “the market economy is better at producing wealth than at distributing it equitably. The concentration of wealth in a few hands gives disproportion power to some at the cost of others.” 

               Judaism demands that an economic system be based on a moral system. None can be deprived of human dignity, none should be made the slave of another, and none should be imprisoned by debt forever. We all share in a commonwealth.  A moral system does not mandate the dismantling of the market economy, but as Rabbi Sacks suggests, “it may require periodic redistribution.” In our tradition, tzedakah is not a matter of “charity” but rather a matter of “justice.” Those with the means to help others are required to do so.