Parashat Behar is Hebrew for “on the mount” or “on the mountain,” it is the fifth
word, and the first distinctive word, in the parashah from the 32nd weekly Torah portion (parashah)
in the annual cycle of reading the Torah and the ninth parashah in the book of
Vayikra / Leviticus. In this week’s reading we find the mitzvah (command) when
entering the Promised Land to observe a year of Jubilee (Yovel). The year of Jubilee begins with a
joyful shout with trumpets. During this year, the land was to be fallow, not to be seeded
(25:1-12), all property was to revert back to its original
owner (25:13-28), all slaves were to be set free
(25:39-54), and all debts were to be released. The
year of Jubilee is a very important festival but did you know there is no record in Scripture of the actual
observance of this festival? There are however a few places in scripture that allude to the festival,
let’s look at a few of them this week.
Read More here.
