May 8, 2010 Devar Torah: Behar/Bechukotai – Don Abramson SHABBAT SHALOM     THIS WEEK'S TORAH PORTIONS ARE BEHAR AND BECHUKOTAI. IN BEHAR, THE FASCINATING CONCEPT OF THE YOVEL, THE JUBILEE YEAR, IS INTRODUCED. IT IS THE 50TH YEAR, CONCLUDING  SEVEN SABBATICAL OR SHMITA YEARS AND IT IS ANNOUNCED BY THE BLOWING OF THE RAM'S HORN, THE YOVEL, ON YOM KIPPUR OF THAT 50TH YEAR. THOSE ENSLAVED BECAUSE OF DEBTS ARE FREED, LANDS LOST BECAUSE OF DEBT ARE RETURNED AND THOSE REPATRIATED TO THEIR LAND CAN NOW EARN A LIVING. INEQUALITIES IN SOCIETY ARE REDUCED AND PEOPLE CAN LIVE MORE HARMONIOUSLY WITH EACH OTHER.  JOSEPH HERTZ HAS POINTED OUT THAT YOVEL MAKES IT MUCH HARDER FOR LAND TO BE CONCENTRATED IN THE HANDS OF THE WEALTHY, POVERTY IS MINIMIZED, AND THE LAND BECOMES OWNED BY A LARGE NUMBER OF FREEHOLDERS. TO ME, THIS SOUNDS A LOT LIKE THOMAS JEFFERSON’S VISION FOR THE UNITED STATES OF AN AGRARIAN DEMOCRACY MADE UP OF THOSE  FREEHOLDERS. I DON’T KNOW, BUT I WONDER IF JEFFERSON HAD SOME ROLE IN PLACING YOVEL’S INSCRIPTION : “ PROCLAIM LIBERTY THROUGHOUT THE LAND AND TO ALL THE INHABITANTS THEREOF” IN THE LIBERTY BELL.     TO GET AN UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT THAT YOVEL YEAR MIGHT MEAN TO US, I'D LIKE TO DO SEVERAL THINGS: FIRST, TALK A LITTLE BIT ABOUT PERSPECTIVE; SECOND, BRING IN A CONCEPT ABOUT HAVING A HIDDEN ATTRACTIVE QUALITY  THAT I CALL "SNEAK"; AND THEN, HAVE A LITTLE DISCUSSION BASED ON THE TEXT OF HOW THE YOVEL MIGHT APPLY TODAY.   CONCERNING PERSPECTIVE, I'D LIKE TO ASK THOSE IN THE ROOM WHO HAVE EVER HEARD OF OR WATCHED  JACK PAAR TO PLEASE STAND, IF YOU ARE ABLE. THANK YOU. PLEASE SIT DOWN. FOR THOSE WHO DON'T KNOW, JACK PAAR HOSTED THE TONIGHT SHOW BEFORE JOHNNY CARSON AND JAY LENO. IT IS NO SURPRISE THAT THERE ARE PEOPLE HERE OF A VARIETY OF AGES AND EXPERIENCES.   LARRY KUSHNER, WHEN HE WAS A SCHOLAR IN RESIDENCE HERE SEVERAL YEARS AGO, REFERRED TO THE DIFFERENCE IN AGES BETWEEN PARENTS AND TEENAGERS AND HOW THEY SEE THE WORLD DIFFERENTLY WHEN HE GAVE THE FOLLOWING ADVICE: YOU AS A PARENT ARE THE UNITED STATES. YOUR TEENAGER IS A THIRD WORLD COUNTRY. OF COURSE, YOU'RE NOT GOING TO HAVE THE SAME POLICIES AND ATTITUDES BECAUSE YOU COME FROM DIFFERENT PLACES. THE QUESTION IS WHETHER OR NOT YOU WANT TO HAVE EMBASSIES IN EACH OTHERS COUNTRIES TO KEEP THE LINES OF COMMUNICATION OPEN.  I SUGGEST THAT WE ATTEMPT TO DO THE SAME THING WITH THE TORAH, WRITTEN A FEW THOUSAND YEARS AGO, TO UNDERSTAND WHAT IT SAYS AND WHAT IT MEANS FOR US TODAY.   NOW TO THIS CONCEPT CALLED "SNEAK", A TERM A FRIEND OF MINE SAID WAS POPULAR WHEN HE WAS IN COLLEGE AT THE U. OF VIRGINIA. AS I MENTIONED, SNEAK REFERS TO SOME HIDDEN ATTRACTIVE QUALITY OR TALENT, BUT I'D LIKE TO GIVE YOU TWO ILLUSTRATIONS OF IT. THE FIRST WAS TOLD ON THE JACK PAAR SHOW IN THE EARLY 1970'S. AN ALBERT EINSTEIN MEDICAL STUDENT WAS ON HIS SHOW AND TOLD THE AUDIENCE ABOUT THE TIME HE ASKED  SOMEONE OUT ON A DATE. SHE ACCEPTED AND HE ASKED "WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DO?" SHE SAID,"LET'S SEE A MOVIE; THERE'S THIS NEW MOVIE OUT CALLED GOODBYE COLUMBUS THAT'S SUPPOSED TO BE VERY GOOD." HE SAID OK, IF YOU WANT TO, AND THEY WENT TO THE MOVIE. A FEW MINUTES INTO THE MOVIE, SHE LOOKED AT HER DATE, LOOKED AGAIN AT THE SCREEN, AND DID A DOUBLE TAKE. HER DATE PLAYED THE SON, BEN POTEMKIN, IN THE MOVIE AND HE HADN'T MENTIONED IT TO HER.  THAT'S SNEAK.   ONE MORE EXAMPLE. MY COUSIN ANDY, A MED SCHOOL PROFESSOR, ONCE ASKED TO PLAY IN A PICKUP BASKETBALL GAME ON DUKE UNIVERSITY'S CAMPUS A FEW YEARS AGO. ANDY APPROACHED THE GROUP OF COOL, TALL, BLACK GUYS PASSING A BALL AROUND, GETTING READY TO PLAY. ANDY'S ABOUT FIVE FEET NINE, MUCH OLDER THAN THEM, BALDING, WITH HEAVY BLACK SAFETY GLASSES, GYM SOCKS PULLED UP TO HIS KNEES, TOO SHORT SHORTS, AND A T-SHIRT WITH AN EQUATION ON IT. THEY RELUCTANTLY AGREED AND WHEN THEY CHOSE SIDES, HE WAS PICKED DEAD LAST. DURING THE GAME. HE  MADE SHOT AFTER SHOT AND EASILY DUNKED OVER EVERYONE. HE WAS HEAD AND SHOULDERS ABOVE ANYONE ELSE ON THE COURT, BUT HE HADN'T MENTIONED ANYTHING WHEN THEY WERE CHOOSING UP SIDES. IT TURNS OUT, ANDY WAS A STARTING GUARD FOR MIT AND HIGH JUMPED 6'6" FOR THE TRACK TEAM.  THAT'S SNEAK.   IN JEWISH FOLKLORE, THE IDEA OF SNEAK REVEALS ITSELF IN THE LAMED VAVNIKS, THE 36 RIGHTEOUS PEOPLE ON WHOM THE FATE OF WORLD RESTS, YET NO ONE KNOWS WHO THEY ARE. THEY  ARE SO HUMBLE THAT THEY THEMSELVES DON'T KNOW THAT THEY ARE LAMED VAVNIKS AND IT IS PROOF POSITIVE THAT YOU ARE NOT ONE IF YOU CLAIM TO BE ONE. THOSE LAMEDVAVNIKS HAVE GREAT SNEAK.  THE MORAL LESSON, THOUGH, IS THAT SINCE NOBODY KNOWS WHO THEY ARE, WE SHOULD ACT AS IF EVERYONE COULD BE ONE AND BEHAVE WITH HUMILITY AND RIGHTEOUSNESS.   I'D LIKE TO SUGGEST THAT THE TORAH HAS A LOT OF SNEAK. BRAD ARTSON TALKS ABOUT THIS SLIGHTLY DIFFERENTLY IN HIS EMBEDDEDMENT THEORY: THE TORAH CONTAINS KERNELS OF WISDOM AND TRUTH THAT ARE EMBEDDED IN THE TEXT BUT ARE ONLY REVEALED IN EACH GENERATION. LET'S SEE IF WE CAN FIND SOME OF THAT WISDOM AND INSIGHT IN THE TEXT FOR YOVEL. PLEASE TURN TO PAGE 740, VERSE. HERE'S MY QUESTION: WHAT WOULD YOVEL LOOK LIKE TO US TODAY. ANY IDEAS? [DISCUSSION. A NOTE THAT A MINIMILIST VIEW OF YOVEL WOULD NOTE THAT IT ENDED WITH THE DESTRUCTION OF THE FIRST TEMPLE. A MAXIMALIST VIEW OF SHEMITA MIGHT NOTE THAT WE ARE NOW IN THE 6TH MILLENIUM—5770 IN THE HEBREW CALENDAR, THAT ROUGHLY RECORDS THE TIME SINCE THERE HAS BEEN WRITTEN HISTORY, AND IN A FEW HUNDRED YEARS WE WILL ENTER THE SHEMITA MILLENIUM, PERHAPS ONE OF REST AND PEACE.    THIS TORAH CONCEPT OF YOVEL FOR ME CAME TO LIFE THROUGH THE INITIATIVE STARTED BY SOME ANGLICAN BISHOPS WITH THE HELP OF THE POPE TO PROVIDE DEBT RELIEF FOR HEAVILY INDEBTED POOR COUNTRIES. THE IDEA WAS TO HAVE MONEY THAT OTHERWISE WOULD HAVE GONE TO PAY INTEREST AND PRINCIPAL TO WEALTHIER COUNTRIES BE USED INSTEAD TO PROVIDE HEALTH SERVICES, REDUCE SCHOOL FEES, AND BUILD INFRASTRUCTURE IN THOSE POOR COUNTRIES. I HELPED ORGANIZE JEWISH SUPPORT FOR THIS EFFORT, IN LARGE PART SUCCESSFUL, AND THIS YEAR MARKS THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE PASSAGE OF DEBT RELIEF LEGISLATION IN THE UNITED STATES.   I'D LIKE TO LEAVE YOU WITH THE FOLLOWING THOUGHTS: JUST AS SHAVUOT MARKS A KIND OF PINNACLE OF SEVEN TIMES SEVEN WEEKS, THE YOVEL MARKS A KIND OF PINNACLE OF SEVEN TIMES SEVEN YEARS. THE TORAH IS TELLING US THAT SOMETHING VERY SIGNIFICANT  IS GOING ON, ALTHOUGH IT MAY BE DOING SO IN A SNEAK WAY, AND WE SHOULD BE LISTENING. THE FIRST MESSAGE IS THAT WE SHOULD ASSERT THE PRIMACY OF RELATIONSHIPS IN SOCIETY ABOVE PROPERTY RIGHTS. THE SECOND MESSAGE IS THAT, AT LEAST ONCE IN EVERY GENERATION, FOR OURSELVES OR FOR OUR CHILDREN, EVERYONE  SHOULD HAVE THE CHANCE TO ESCAPE POVERTY. SHABBAT SHALOM