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Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2) Earth Day
"Someone who has 100, desires 200." THE MIGHTY OAK "From one small seed, a mighty tree grows. From one simple thought, a whole culture springs." A mighty oak testifies to the wonders contained within a tiny acorn. Similarly, history declares the wisdom hidden in simple concepts. In this week's Parsha, we read: "Proclaim liberty throughout the land..." (Leviticus 25:10) This simple sentence became an American ideal when the founding fathers emblazoned it on the Liberty Bell. However, it is only with hindsight that we appreciate the impact this idea has had. In the ancient world, human beings were often regarded as mere chattel. Freedom was something you earned or were born into. With the idea of "proclaiming liberty," the Torah declared that human beings are something more than property, even imbued with special, inalienable rights. Civil rights was one of the mighty trees sprung forth from the liberty seed. Very possibly, the founding fathers did not perceive how great a tree their seedling would produce. To the naked eye, "liberty" must have seemed like a very small seed. Only time can reveal the incredible potential of an acorn; only the passage of time has shown the depth and wisdom of the Torah's words. Just think how the pages of history would be qualitatively different if the world had proclaimed liberty 3500 years ago along with the Jews! LIBERTY OF THE LAND But the liberty train has not yet reached its final destination. There is a form of liberty mentioned in this week's Parsha that the world has yet to grasp. It, too, can bear great fruits for mankind. When the Torah tells us to proclaim liberty, it not only refers to people (in the sense the founding fathers understood), but it also means "Liberty of the Land." On a more conceptual level, consider the following parallel: If civil rights are a result of declaring mankind's liberty, then land itself attains certain rights by declaring "Liberty of the Land." Which brings us to the topic of Jewish environmentalism. Is not the pervasive misuse and abuse of the earth a direct result of thinking that land is simply one of our possessions that we can do with whatever we wish? Once man could no longer "own" other men, then slowly but surely he came to regard others as something he was not allowed to abuse. The Torah tells us that the same process that gave man "inalienable rights" will give the earth a similar degree of respect. The "consciousness" that 1990's environmentalists are trying to create was an issue the Torah solved 3500 years ago! HOW MUCH LAND DO YOU NEED? The fuel of the rat race is "ownership beyond need." Most of mankind is running on caffeine, madly out of control, buying more than it could ever use. Greed takes a huge toll, producing costs that no society can ever pay. This abuse is perhaps most profound in regard to the ultimate possession: Land. This idea is expressed in a short story by Leo Tolstoy entitled "How Much Land Does a Man Need?" It tells of a man who makes a business deal which gives him the opportunity to obtain as much land as he can encircle by walking during the course of one day. The man starts out early in the morning, and as he gets further and further out, his eyes catch more and more good land. So he keeps on going. It is only when the day is more than half over, that he realizes he'd better make a turn and head back to the beginning - because if he doesn't fully encircle the land, then he gets nothing. The afternoon wears on and by the end the man is running. The finish line is in sight, and the sun is setting. He tries to run faster, but his body is exhausted. Finally, with his last ounce of strength, one moment before sunset, he lunges to the finish line. At which point he collapses and dies. Concludes the story: How much land does a man need? The burial plot took up about six feet. SWIMMING WITH SHARKS, RACING WITH RATS This unique concept, that land requires liberty, is fulfilled by returning the land to its original owner during the Jubilee year:
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If you are content with yourself and try to do the best, you have no chance to be greedy for food, money or sex or anything else
Born and educated in London, Baars received rabbinical ordination after nine years of learning at Aish HaTorah in Jerusalem. With a wry sense of humor and creative approach to teaching, Baars is famed as the only rabbi to perform stand-up comedy at The Improv in Santa Monica, California.
Steve is married to Ruth Baars and they are blessed with six children.