Behar-Bechukotai - God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You

The double portion of Behar-Bechukotai closes out the Book of Leviticus.  We get listings of moral and ethical behavior that now seem to be incumbent upon the entire Israelite community (whereas much of the rest of Leviticus can be read as an instruction manual for the priests and Levites).  A central theme here is the notion of sabbatical and jubilee years, which are given much attention in Parashat Behar.  The rules of the sabbatical are designed not only to give the land an opportunity to rest (an important idea well before the significance of crop rotation was fully appreciated), but also to level the playing field for Israelites (and resident aliens) of all socio-economic backgrounds.  The sabbatical/ jubilee year included forgiveness of debts, cancellation of real-estate contracts, release of indentured servants, and other rules designed to help all members of the community get back on equal footing.  And in later generations, when he saw people "gaming the system" to their own advantage, Rabbi Hillel instituted a legal overlay known asa the "prosbul" to move contracts into the hands of the courts and once again try to restore a sense of fairness to the process.

Nowadays, the sabbatical and jubilee are no longer practiced and we do see class and socio-economic striations pulling at the fabric of our society.  This month is the centennial of folksinger Pete Seeger, who used his songs to try to shed light on disparities in our world and advocate for change.  He famously had a sticker on his guitar that read, "This machine surrounds hate and forces it to surrender."  This song, Seeger's final single, is but one in the pantheon of folk songs that Seeger wrote and/or popularized that talk about working together to achieve social justice.



Please note, I do not own-- nor do I claim to own-- these songs.  Copyrights are held by the various artists.  I include them here for illustrative purposes.
God's Counting on Me, God's Counting on You- (Behar-Bechukotai- Leviticus 25:1-27:14)

Music and lyrics by Pete Seeger and Lorre Wyatt; performed by Pete Seeger with Lorre Wyatt & Friends. Billy Barone Productions, 2012.