IF YOU FOLLOW MY LAWS AND

GOD, AND YOU SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.

 (Vayikra 26: 3, 6,

11-12)

And I will walk in your midst

I

will walk with you in the Garden of Eden as one of you, and you will not be terrified

of Me. Could it be that you will not fear Me? The verse comes to address this

question: I will be your God.

(Rashi on Vayikra 26:12).

On

the one hand: I will establish my abode in your midst – words which

indicate something static and constant. On the other hand: And I will walk

in your midst – an expression possessing dynamism. Regarding this, Rabbi Ovadyah Seforno, the Renaissance

exegete, had interesting things to say – ideas that remain pertinent for our

times, and which are worth attending to.

Seforno points out that the Torah uses the

complicated conjugation vehithalakhti [and

I will walk], rather than the simpler vehalakhti.

He explains:

One who is mithalekh

[similar to vehithalakhti] walks here and

there, not to any single place; therefore he said vehithalakhti

in your midst – the emanation of His Glory would not fall upon any one

single place, as it was with the Tabernacle and the Temple, as He said, the

the poor and brokenhearted, who is concerned with My word (Yeshayahu 66: 1, 2).

That,

then, is the meaning of the term lehithalekh?

– that there is no particular place which is holy. The Torah is not

territorial. This must be said against the fetishism of the land which assumes

that the Torah serves the land, when the opposite is true: the land was

intended for the fulfillment of the Torah.

(Y.

Leibowitz: Sheva Shanim Shel Sihot

al Parashat Ha-Shavua,

pg. 598)

For the

Children of Israel are My Servants – Not the Servants of Servants

Ronen Ahituv

In the modern world, it is customary to

think of slavery as a primitive and offensive phenomenon. Enslavement itself is

seen as a desecration of human dignity, since humans are born to be free. The

Exodus story is also understood in this light as involving a struggle against

slavery and as a model for the anti-slavery movement.

This approach stands behind the great

social struggles for the abolition of slavery in the 19^th century,

and behind today's ruling liberal ideology. Slavery is seen as an archaic

phenomenon, and the image of the slave is of a miserable and helpless person

deserving of protection and liberation. In our world, we often condemn certain

social situations as "slavery" in order to invite pressure to free the

"slaves."

Consideration of Scripture and Talmudic

literature reveals that slavery was not so badly thought of in the past. Not

all slaves were oppressed: some of them received fair treatment, and many of

them loved their masters – for example, the enlightened master of Devarim 15: 16, whose slave loves you and your

house-hold and is happy with you. Many slaves saw their slavery as a value

and as purpose for life; they served their masters "not in order to

receive a reward" (see Avot 1:3). We

know stories of slaves who owned property, some of whom even owned their own

slaves, such as Tzivah, a slave in Saul's household (II Samuel, 9). The

custom of reclining at the Seder is called "the manner of freemen" –

so called because it is impossible to observe the custom without the assistance

of slaves.

When slavery is viewed as a normal and

legitimate arrangement it may also serve as a model for the relationship

between humans and God. It is a title of honor for the greatest of saints to be

called "God's slave" (see Devarim 27), and

the Jewish People as a whole is seen as a slave to God. This slavery prevents

Jews from being slaves to one another, as is said in our parasha

(Vayikra 25: 39-44):

If your kinsman under you continues in

female slaves.

It is not that slavery is prohibited in

principle, but rather that God's slaves are enslaved to Him, and, therefore,

they are not available to serve people. This is not a matter of a humanistic

value, but rather of a religious value. As a result, classical Jewish texts do

not call for the freeing of all slaves. Instead, they represent the Jewish

People – and the Jewish People alone – as a nation of free men and woman. This

freedom does not entail the rejection of all authority; rather it replaces the

yoke of human authority with that of divine authority.

In the introduction to the Ten

Commandments (Shemot 20: 2), the nation's servitude to God

functions as the grounds for God's demand of obedience, faithfulness, and

observance of His commandments. So too in our parasha

(25:

55, 26:2):

For it is to Me that the Israelites are

sanctuary, I am the Lord your God.

The Sages based a daring midrash upon this conception of the relationship between

the people and their God:

It has already been said that I am

the Lord your God who took you out from the land of Egypt (Vayikra 19: 36). What does the later repetition of the

phrase I am the Lord your God (25: 55) come to teach us?

It prevents Israel from saying:

"Did not God command us so that we would be able to perform [the

commandments] and receive a reward? We will not perform [the commandments], and

we shall do without our reward!"

Israel spoke

in this way to Ezekiel, where it is said that men of the elders of Israel came

forth to me and sat before me (Ezekiel 20:1). They

master, does he not leave his [master's] domain? He said, "Yes." They

said to him: Since God has sold us to the nations of the world, we have left

his domain!

He said to them: But when a master

sells his slave with the intention of getting him back, does he leave his

domain? (Sifrei Bamidbar 115)

Here, the Sages view exile as something

that undermines the service of God: We have been sold off to the nations of the

world, and just as the exodus from Egypt bound us and enslaved us to God, exile

frees us from His yoke. Ezekiel's answer is predicated upon the promise of

redemption and the return from exile. Our exile was merely temporary, leaving

our servitude to God untouched, even in the Diaspora.

Today, there are those who would turn

these ideas on their heads: They view exile as the source of God's service, and

connect national liberation with casting-off the yoke off the commandments. To

these Ezekiel said, And what you have in mind shall never come to pass (20:32).

Israel's freedom in its own land is not of ultimate value, but rather a condition

for full observance of the commandments.

Our everyday lives are not fully free

lives. Each of us stands in a web of responsibilities to our families, work,

and values. These responsibilities are not always pleasant or easy, but we

could not imagine asking to be completely relieved of them.

The approach which recognizes

servitude, which regulates it within a system of rights and obligations,

prevents both cruel exploitation on the one hand, and illusions of nihilistic

abandonment of responsibility on the other.

Dr.

Ronen Ahituv lives in Mitzpeh Netofah and is a member

of the Midrasha in Oranim.

Do Not Worship Stones

Do

not place figured stones in your land (Vayikra

26:1)

– This refers to all other "lands," but in the Sanctuary one is

permitted to prostrate oneself one the stones (of the floor), for it says in

your land – in your land you may not prostrate yourself on stones, but you

may prostrate yourselves on the floor-stones of the Sanctuary. That is why all

of Israel customarily lay down mats or straw in Synagogues whose floors are

made of stone – to separate their faces from the stones. An if one does not

find anything to separate himself from the stones, he goes elsewhere to

prostrate himself, or bends over to the side so that he does not touch the

stone with his face.

(RaMBaM, Hilkhot Avoda Zara 6:7)

Shemittah as an Egalitarian Experience that

Promotes Peace

The

land shall observe a Sabbath of the Lord (25:2): That

the land be idle from any human work in he seventh year… but in the

seventh year the land shall have a Sabbath of complete rest (25:4)…

that is why the Torah commanded this commandment, that all forms of mortal

government and mastery in connection with working the land be annulled, so that

a person will find in his own heart that the real principle of mastery and

government rests only with God.

(Rabbeinu Behayeiy, Vayikra 25: 2)

Every

seventh year you shall practice remission of debts (Devarim 15:1): The break from planting and

cultivation, and the granting of free access to food for poor people, create

communal feelings and peace in the Shemittah year.

Then no one is allowed to possess the grain of the seventh year as its owner,

and this [lack of ownership] is no doubt the source of peace, since all

contentiousness results from the principle of "mine is mine and yours is

yours." However, this [principle] is not so [operative] in the seventh

year. For [while in it] people remain unequal on matters of positive actions,

they do become equal in matters of refraining from action, and this is truly

connected with peace…

(Klei Yakar Devarim 31: 12)

Is Redemption Automatic or

Conditional?

Rabbi

Eliezer says: If Israel repents, they will be

redeemed, and if not, they will not be redeemed.

Rabbi

Yehoshua said to him: If they do not repent, they

will not be redeemed!? Rather, God places a king over them whose decrees are

harsher than those of Haman – then Israel will repent

and return to its better self.

(Sanhedrin

97b)

When

the Torah tells us of the great promise and I shall remember the covenant

(Vayikra 26:42), and that God will not forget the

covenant even when we are in the lands of our enemies – it does not promise us

redemption, because we have no right to it. In order for the covenant, which

exists only potentially, to become actual, it is necessary for the other party

to the covenant to act. We are that other party.

This

must be stated against the idolatrous belief that we have been promised

unconditional redemption – a notion which is common even among the public which

views itself as faithful to God and His Torah. The midrash

states explicitly: "Three things were given conditionally- the Land of

Israel, the Temple, and the Kingdom of David." The Torah, (and the

priesthood of Aaron's family) were given unconditionally.

(Prof.

Yeshayahu Leibowitz: He'arot le'Parashiyot Ha'Shavua pp. 84-5)

Restoration of the Temple and

the Well-Being of Jerusalem Depend Upon the Love and Pursuit of Peace.

Rabbi

Yehoshua ben Levi said: God

told Israel, "You caused My house to be destroyed and my children to be

exiled. Pray for its peace, and I will forgive you." What is the meaning

of pray for the peace of Jerusalem (Tehillim

122:6)?

And [what is the meaning of that which] he says, and seek the welfare of the

city (Jeremiah 29:7), and [of what] he says, may there be peace within

your ramparts (Tehillim 122:7), and

peace] (122:8)? [The

explanation of these verses is that they say to] one who loves peace, and

pursues peace, and greets others with "peace," and answers them with

"peace" – God makes provisions for you in this life and in the next –

but the lowly shall inherit the land, and delight in abundant peace (Tehillim 37:11)

(Derekh Eretz Zuta

15)

…and

in the next world, when God returns the exiles to Jerusalem, he will return

them in peace, for it is said Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, may those who

love you be at peace (Tehillim 122:6). And

so it says, I will extend to her peace like a river (Yeshayahu 66:12).

(Tanhuma 96:6)

…peace

is not only a matter of moral inclination – the work of peace is a constant

cultural task, exalted and mighty, a task to which we must always apply all of

the nation's most fertile forces. We must take to heart: What will be the

conclusion of all the multiplying divisions, the parties, federations,

factions, unions and lists, streams and forums, if we do not find ourselves one

great peak on which to raise the flag of the nation as a whole, and deal

unceasingly with all of the better elements of the public promotion of national

unity, calming of disagreements and joining together of hopes? When we

recognize and believe that Israel's salvation will come with the beginning of

the revealed End, when we will actualize what God has given us strength to do:

to posses the land, to redeem it, work it, and build it, to conquer it with

both cultural and practical conquests, we must increasingly know that the

spirit of God upon Elijah, to reconcile parents with children and children

with their parents (Malachi 3:24), to make peace in the world, to calm

disagreement (see

Massekhet Eduyot), must

also be revealed in the workings of our own souls, in the activity of the

entire nation, by way of its best strength – the Torah scholars who increase

peace in the world.

(From

Rabbi A. I. Kook ztz'l's letter to Mizrahi's delegates

to

the Zionist Congress, Iggrot HaRAYaH #571)

If you enjoy Shabbat Shalom, please consider

contributing towards its publication and distribution.

• Hebrew

  edition distributed in Israel $1000

• English

  edition distributed via email $ 100

Issues may be dedicated in honor of an event,

person, simcha, etc. Requests must be made 3-4 weeks

in advance to appear in the Hebrew, 10 days in advance to appear in the English

email.

Tax exempt contributions to Oz VeShalom

may be made through the New Israel Fund or PEF.

Contributions should be marked as donor-advised to OzVeShalom/Netivot Shalom, Shabbat Shalom project.

PLEASE NOTE THAT THE NEW ISRAEL FUND IS NO LONGER

ACCEPTING DONATIONS UNDER $50. FOR DONATIONS BETWEEN $50 AND $999 THEY ARE

CHARGING A $50 SERVICE CHARGE. DONATIONS ABOVE $1000 ARE CHARGED A 5% FEE.

New Israel Fund, POB 91588, Washington, DC

20090-1588, USA

New Israel Fund of Great Britain, 26 Enford Street, London W1H 2DD, Great Britain

PEF will also channel donations and provide a

tax-exemptions. Donations should be sent to P.E.F. Israel Endowment

Funds, Inc., 317 Madison Ave., Suite 607, New York, New York 10017 USA

About us:

Oz Veshalom-Netivot

Shalom is a movement dedicated to the advancement of a civil society in Israel.

It is committed to promoting the ideals of tolerance, pluralism, and justice, concepts

which have always been central to Jewish tradition and law.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot

Shalom shares a deep attachment to the land of Israel and it no less views

peace as a central religious value. It believes that Jews have both the

religious and the national obligation to support the pursuit of peace. It

maintains that Jewish law clearly requires us to create a fair and just

society, and that co-existence between Jews and Arabs is not an option but an

imperative.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's programs include both educational and protest

activities. Seminars, lectures, workshops, conferences and weekend programs are

held for students, educators and families, as well as joint seminars for Jews,

Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Protest activities focus on issues of human

rights, co-existence between Jews and Arabs, and responses to issues of

particular religious relevance.

9,000 copies of a 4 page peace oriented commentary

on the weekly Torah reading are written and published by Oz VeShalom/Netivot

Shalom and they are distributed to over 350 synagogues in Israel and are sent

overseas via email. Our web site is www.netivot-shalom.org.il

Oz Veshalom-Netivot Shalom's educational forums draw people of different

backgrounds, secular and religious, who are keen to deepen their Jewish

knowledge and to hear an alternative religious standpoint on the subjects of

peace and social issues.

Oz Veshalom-Netivot

Shalom fills an ideological vacuum in Israel's society. Committed both to

Jewish tradition and observance, and to the furthering of peace and

coexistence, the movement is in a unique position to engage in dialogue with

the secular left and the religious right, with Israeli Arabs and with

Palestinians.