* PARSHA Q&A * In-Depth Questions on the Parsha and Rashi's commentary. Parshas Behar For the week ending 13 Iyar 5755 12 & 13 May 1995 ========================================================================== Ohr Somayach has a NEW Internet Address: ohr@jer1.co.il ========================================================================== Parsha Questions 1. Why does the Torah specify that the laws of Shemita were taught on Har Sinai? 2. Is it permissible to eat produce that "grows by itself" during the Shemita year? 3. If one possesses Shemita food after it is no longer available in the field, what must he do with it? 4. The Torah commands, "You shall sanctify the fiftieth year (25:10)." How is this done? 5. Where does the Yovel year get its name? 6. Which two "returns" are announced by the shofar during Yovel? 7. In verse 25:14, to what does "al tonu" (don't harm) refer? 8. In verse 25:17, to what does "lo sonu" (don't harm) refer? 9. What is the punishment for neglecting the laws of Shemita? 10. How many Shemita years were violated prior to the Babylonian exile? 11. If Shemita is observed properly, how long is the crop of the sixth year guaranteed to last? 12. Under what circumstance may one sell ancestral land? 13. After selling an ancestral field, when can one redeem it? 14. If a home in a walled city is sold, when can it be redeemed? 15. What is considered a walled city? 16. After selling a home in a city without walls, when can one redeem it? 17. Who is a "ger toshav"? 18. To what is one who leaves Eretz Yisrael compared? 19. List three prohibitions which demonstrate the dignity with which one must treat a Jewish indentured servant. 20. Who supports the family of the Jewish indentured servant during his years of servitude? Bonus QUESTION: "And Hashem spoke to Moshe on Har Sinai... When you come into the Land... six years you will sow your land... and the seventh year will be a year of strict rest for the land." (25:1-4) Why does the Torah emphasize that the laws of Shemita were given on Har Sinai? I Did Not Know That! "...You are strangers and sojourners with Me. In all the lands...(25:23-4)" Wherever the Jewish People are exiled, the Shechina goes with them. Ba'al Haturim ========================================================================== Answers to this Week's Questions All references are to the verses and Rashi's commentary, unless otherwise stated 1. 25:1 - To teach us that just as Shemita was taught in detail on Har Sinai, so too, all the mitzvos were taught in detail on Har Sinai 2. 25:5 - No, unless it was declared "hefker". 3. 25:7 - Remove it from his house or property and make it "hefker". 4. 25:10 - At the beginning of the year the Beis Din declares, "This year is Kadosh." 5. 25:10 - From the sounding of the shofar. A ram's horn is called a yovel. 6. 25:10 - The return of the land to its original owner, and the "return" (freedom) of the slave from slavery. 7. 25:14 - "Ona'as mamon", harming someone financially. 8. 25:17 - "Ona'as d'varim", harming someone with words. 9. 25:18 - Exile. 10. 25:18 - Seventy -- corresponding to the seventy years of the Babylonian exile. 11. 25:21,22 - From Nissan of the 6th year until Succos of the 9th year. 12. 25:25 - Only because of poverty. 13. 25:24 - Anytime after two years following the sale until Yovel. In the beginning of Yovel it returns to the family automatically. 14. 25:29 - Only within the first year after the sale. Afterwards, even in Yovel it does not return. 15. 25:29 - A city that has been surrounded by a wall since the time of Yehoshua. 16. 25:31 - Anytime until Yovel, when it returns automatically. 17. 25:35 - A non-Jew who lives in Eretz Yisrael and accepts upon himself not to worship idols. 18. 25:38 - To one who worships idols. 19. 25:39-43 - a) Do not make him perform humiliating tasks; b) Do not sell him publicly; c) Do not make him perform unnecessary jobs. 20. 25:41 - His master. Bonus ANSWER: The mitzvah of Shemita is itself a proof that the Torah is of divine origin. The Torah promises that, "I will command My blessing for you in the sixth year and there will be produce for three years (25:21)." Only Hashem could fulfill such a promise. 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