Shabbat Shalom!  Thank you, Rabbi Graff, for giving me this opportunity. And thank you, Jeff, for the inspiring conversations about this amazing double parasha. 

Sometimes during our Torah readings, I find myself hooked on the story, imagining the people in a play. I mean, who doesn’t love listening to a good story? 

More often than not, though, I seek to make connections between the world depicted in our Torah and the world we inhabit today. I did some research to prepare for today’s, and  acknowledge Rabbis Jill Jacobs and Rachel Greengrass of T’ruah, Rabbi Jonathan Sacks of blessed memory, and The Sentencing Project and American Jewish World Service. The commentary in our own chumash was also illuminating.

In Behar we hear of the need for a sabbatical for the land. We can appreciate the parallel between G-d resting after 6  days of creation, workers  resting after 6 days of labor, and now, the land resting after 6 years of being worked.  Might this early connection between people and the land inform our responsibilities today? Is it a reminder of how, even if I do not work the land myself, I have a responsibility to respect and protect it? Can we understand this as a plea to deal with climate change? 

Additionally, regarding the land…G-d warns, “The land is Mine; you are but gerim, migrants” (Leviticus 25:23). We do not own the land, G-d does. The Torah provides  details about our responsibilities … as temporary visitors to G-d’s land.   Rabbi Greengrass  suggests that at least  “36 times we are told to love and protect … the stranger, the immigrant. Often we hear, “because you were strangers  in the land of Egypt.” Yes, as Jews we know the heart of the immigrant, because we were immigrants, … throughout history.“ How can this guide us today in the wake of the lifting of Title 42, as our southern border is swelling with people desperately seeking to escape poverty and repression? Does reading this parasha help us redouble our compassion, generosity, and solidarity with immigrants?

The passages about the need for a jubilee year could also be understood in today’s world.  Consider this, written by the folks at The Sentencing Project:   “Fifty years ago, the United States embarked on a path of mass incarceration that has led to a staggering increase in the prison population. Today, almost 2 million individuals – disproportionately Black Americans – are incarcerated in our nation’s prisons and jails. The prison population has grown 500% since 1973 …”    No doubt some of you are also alarmed by the growing mass incarceration in our country.  So, might we proclaim 2023 a Jubilee year for incarcerated people? Our local Bend the Arc chapter is working to pass legislation  for resentencing of  older people serving Life Without Parole, people who have been locked up for more than 20 years already.  I invite you to ponder this as we read about the Jubilee year soon.

Finally, in writing about this parasha more than 10 years ago, Rabbi Sacks of blessed memory asserted that “ Judaism is the religion of a people born in slavery and longing for redemption; and the great assault of slavery against human dignity is that it deprives me of the ownership of the wealth I create. …  The ideal society envisaged by the prophets is one in which each person is able to sit underneath his own vine and fig tree”  Is Rabbi Sacks encouraging a more equitable distribution of wealth? If he were alive today, what might he say about the California  proposal to offer reparations to descendants of enslaved Africans?

Undoubtedly, other parts of this rich parasha will invite your attention and reflection. I’d love to hear your ideas.  Shabbat shalom.

Flaurie S. Imberman. 13 May 2023     22 Iyar 5783

In honor of my granddaughter Hattie, whose upcoming 5th birthday we celebrated today