Parashat Behar-Bechukotai
Torah: Leviticus 25:1 – 27:34 (Chazak!)
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19 - 17:14
Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19 - 17:14
Iyar 22, 5786 / May 8-9, 2026
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The National Association of Letter Carriers and the USPS are conducting their annual STAMP OUT HUNGER campaign this Saturday, May 9. For more info, go to: https://about.usps.com/newsroom/local-releases/ca/2026/0424-the-stamp-out-hunger-food-drive.htm
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Lunch and Learn meets Mondays at 12:30 PM on Zoom and Facebook Live. On May 11, we'll be reading and discussing Ramban's Commentary on the Book of Genesis. You can find the material here:
NOTE: Our May 11 class might be running late or rescheduled, as I have a beit din meeting that morning. Check for an update over the weekend.
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YOUR SIBLING'S KEEPER
"And if your brother becomes poor and his strength fails him, you shall support him, whether he is a convert (i.e., a naturalized citizen - RAF) or a resident alien (i.e., a non-citizen - RAF), in order that he may live with you." Leviticus 25:35
The great Kabbalist of Tz'fat, Rabbi Moshe Alshikh (1508-1593), notes that earlier verses were in the second person plural. That is, the Torah had set up a social regime to be followed by the community as a whole. In our verse, however, the Torah switches to the singular. He says that, when a person needs help, everyone tries to shift responsibility to someone else, claiming that some other person is more closely related or has more means to help, or... You get the idea.
R. Alshikh says the singular verb teaches that each of us, individually, is responsible for helping the poor. One cannot absolve oneself of this obligation simply by referring the poor person to someone else.
But there’s much, much more at play here. The verse calls the poor person “your brother”, and it clearly means someone beyond only a sibling with closely-shared DNA. Rather, the verse implies that every human being is related to every other human being – we are all siblings.
"The Creation of Adam" - ca. 1508-1512 - Michelangelo
The prophet Malachi (2:10) is explicit about this: “Do we not all have one father? Did not one God create us? Why do we deal treacherously every man against his brother, profaning the covenant of our ancestors?” See also Mishnah Sanhedrin 4:5: “...only a single human being was initially created for the sake of peace, so that no one should be able to claim lineage superior to another person…”
You and I are each our siblings' keeper! If we don't support them, who will?
Shabbat Shalom!
Rabbi Richard A. Flom
Rabbi Emeritus, Temple B’nai Hayim
הרחמן הוא יברך אותנו כולנו יחד בברכת אחוה, ובברכת אהבה,ובברכת שלום
May the Merciful One bless us, all of us as one, with the blessing of brotherhood, the blessing of love, and the blessing of peace.
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