{"id":25497,"date":"2026-05-06T08:17:28","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T06:17:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/btfila.org\/?p=25497"},"modified":"2026-05-06T13:49:28","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T11:49:28","slug":"parashat-behar-bechukotai","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/btfila.org\/en\/parashat-behar-bechukotai\/","title":{"rendered":"Parshat Behar-Bechukotai"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Words for Shabbat - A community blog for this week's parashah<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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Parshat Behar-Bechukotai<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\"And your brother shall live with you.\"<\/strong><\/h2>
Rabbi Kobi Weiss<\/strong><\/div>

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Granting \"mental resilience\" to a person is a clear commandment and is even more important than the commandment of monetary charity. The prophet Isaiah details the best way for social repentance and says two similar verses: \"Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and to bring the homeless poor into your house\u2026?\" (Chapter 58:7) \"And if you spend yourself on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the afflicted\u2026' (Ibid., 10) The first verse speaks of material aid to the needy, and in its continuation, the prophet Isaiah details six blessings that will come upon whoever fulfills it. The second verse is interpreted as dealing with aid for mental resilience \u2013 \"and satisfy the needs of the afflicted\" \u2013 and in its continuation, the prophet details eleven blessings upon it.<\/p>

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The Talmud (Bavli Bava Batra 9) summarizes: \"Whoever gives even a small coin to a poor person is blessed with six blessings, and whoever appeases him with words is blessed with eleven blessings\" \u2013 teaching you which form of assistance is more important and beneficial in God's eyes.<\/p>

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We will review several commandments concerning interpersonal relationships in Judaism and see how concern for the well-being and mental health of others is expressed in them. First and foremost, the commandments of charity, acts of kindness, and mutual responsibility in Judaism are based on the great principle around which everything revolves: \"You shall love your neighbor as yourself.\" These commandments are not solely about material support. In order to love your neighbor as yourself, one must love oneself, and this is an emotional love that includes inner compassion and giving appropriate value to one's inner self. These feelings should be translated into providing inner resilience and self-worth to others.<\/p>


Additionally, in the mitzvah of visiting the sick, we find that a central goal of the visit is to \"revive the soul\" of the sick person \u2013 to encourage their spirit and give them \"peace of mind with their friends\" \u2013 to give them a feeling that they are being cared for. The Ramban (Torat Ha'adam, Sha'ar HaMichush, p. 17)<\/p>


Jewish law also views caring for the sick as part of the commandment of \"returning a lost item\" \u2013 to return to a person what they have lost, whether it be money, physical health, or mental health. We also have the commandment in this week's Torah portion: \"And your brother shall live with you\" (Leviticus 25:36), a commandment to sustain the other not only financially but also physically and mentally. This is fulfilled when the other person feels the community's embrace and feels that their life is not solitary but one of brotherhood. At the time of the giving of the Torah, the Midrash states: \"Rabbi Shimon ben Yochai taught: At the time the Children of Israel stood at Mount Sinai and said, \"All that the Lord has spoken we will do, and we will hear' (Exodus 24:7), at that moment there were among them neither those with abnormal discharges, nor lepers, nor the lame, nor the blind, nor the mute, nor the deaf, nor fools, nor the dim-witted, nor the simple.\" (Leviticus Rabbah 18:4)<\/p>

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The cry of \"Naaseh v'Nishma\" (We will do and we will hear) was not merely a surrender to observing the Torah from God before hearing it, but a deep connection of the people that included internal social responsibility \u2013 that all will do and all will hear. Here, there is a promise that there will be no outcasts among them, like those with flux or lepers who were outside the camp, nor those with disabilities who could not participate in the doing, nor those with mental impairments who could not hear and understand it. This description of the scene at Mount Sinai is an ideal example of \"Love your fellow as yourself.\".<\/p>

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We note the expression coined by Rabbi Shimon bar Yochai: \"not desolate.\" Many post-traumatized people live among us. Research indicates that most citizens of the country have been affected in one way or another by the psychological stress of recent years. A large part of them are, in a sense, \"desolate\" \u2013 withdrawn into themselves, experiencing detachment and inner emptiness, and impaired in their ability to communicate optimally with their environment. In our Torah portion, it is written: \"And if your brother becomes poor and his hand is weak with you, you shall support him as a stranger and a sojourner, so that he may live with you\" (Leviticus 25:35). Only our outstretched hand \u2013 \"you shall support him\" \u2013 a personal hand and a group hand, will help. The support system must include the \"father and mother\" of the citizen \u2013 that is, the state and its institutions \u2013 to help alleviate the desolation created by events of national magnitude.<\/p>

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And finally\u2014the mitzvah of comforting the mourners\u2014its main purpose is psychological support and communal and social \"hugging\" for one whose world has gone dark. A central part of the laws of mourning is to create a process that accompanies the mourners in difficult moments and supports them so they do not fall and surrender to the inner darkness, but rather rise and return to full functioning in the community.<\/p>


Freud already pointed out that there is no great difference between mourning and melancholy. The only difference lies in whether the mental state is accepted by the culture or not. Even one who mourns emotionally from all the tragic events we have experienced needs the same consolation \u2013 therefore, the blessings from Isaiah, which we mentioned at the beginning, are so fitting, dedicated to one who grants emotional strength \u2013 that his soul \"satisfies\" the other's soul: 'And your light shall break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring forth quickly; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, \"Here I am.\u2019 If you take away from the midst of you the yoke, the pointing of the finger, and the wicked word, and if you offer your bread to the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be like the midday. And the LORD will guide you continually and satisfy your desire with good things, and you will restore your strength. And your house shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt; you shall raise up the foundations of many generations; and you shall be called the repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths, and the inhabitant of ruins.\" (Isaiah 58:8-12).<\/p>

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Shabbat Shalom!<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013<\/em><\/p>

The organization \"Rabbinical Voice for Human Rights,\" of which all rabbis from Beit Tefilah Israeli are members, dedicates the week of the Torah portion \"Behar\" to the issue of social justice each year and holds classes and lectures throughout the country. <\/em>
This year, Social Justice Week is themed around the right to health \u2013 with an emphasis on mental health and the urgent need for supportive systems; resilience centers, and a robust mental health network that provides adequate coverage of doctors in the community offering timely services.<\/em><\/p>\n

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You are invited to explore the special website for Social Justice Week: https:\/\/www.socialjustice.info\/<\/a><\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tRabbi Kobi Weiss\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/h4>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t
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Kobi Weiss is the rabbi of the organization \"Voice of Rabbis for Human Rights.\"<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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