May 22, 2025 – Dr. Susanna Kokkonen
Behar-BeChukotai 5785 (2025)
Leviticus 25:1-27:34 (Haftarah: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14)
Behar-BeChukotai *, the name of the Torah portion in Hebrew, means “on the mountain” and “in my statutes”. In fact, this portion includes two portions. This happens during the year so as to enable all the Torah to be included in the yearly cycle.
God’s Calendar
I would like to make the point that God’s calendar is an agricultural calendar according to the land’s cultivation in modern day Israel. God’s calendar is a Hebrew calendar with Biblical times of celebration and remembrance of past events. The dates are appointed times, moadim, and they relate to things, such as the harvests.
The very beginning of Leviticus 25 begins with instructions for a Sabbath year for the land. During that year the land rests. In Israel I had the privilege of observing how this really takes place.
“When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the Lord. For six years sow your fields, and for six years prune your vineyards and gather their crops. But in the seventh year the land is to have a year of sabbath rest, a sabbath to the Lord. Do not sow your fields or prune your vineyards.” (Lev. 25:2-3 NIV)
It could be very scary for a society based on agriculture to stop cultivating the land for an entire year. How would they know that there would be food? I think that the meaning was to trust in God. He was going to provide in a supernatural manner. A blessing would come from obeying Him.
“You may ask, “What will we eat in the seventh year if we do not plant or harvest our crops?” I will send you such a blessing in the sixth year that the land will yield enough for three years. While you plant during the eighth year, you will eat from the old crop and will continue to eat from it until the harvest of the ninth year comes in.” (Leviticus 25:20-22 NIV)
The instruction on Sabbatical Year is followed by instructions for the Year of Jubilee, yovel, in Hebrew. This refers to 50 years.
“Count off seven sabbath years—seven times seven years—so that the seven sabbath years amount to a period of forty-nine years. Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land. Consecrate the fiftieth year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you…do not sow and do not reap what grows of itself or harvest the untended vines. For it is a jubilee and is to be holy for you; eat only what is taken directly from the fields.” (Leviticus 25:8-12 NIV)
A rich harvest will follow from following God’s commandments.
“If you follow my decrees and are careful to obey my commands, I will send you rain in its season, and the ground will yield its crops and the trees their fruit. Your threshing will continue until grape harvest and the grape harvest will continue until planting, and you will eat all the food you want and live in safety in your land.” (Leviticus 26:3-5 NIV)
Trusting God
In the related Haftarah from Jeremiah, there are warnings of what will happen, because of disobedience to God’s commandments. There will be tragic consequences. God will not forget His people and He will have mercy. But in trusting sources other than God, man puts himself at risk.
“Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh
and whose heart turns away from the Lord.
That person will be like a bush in the wastelands; they will not see prosperity when it comes.
They will dwell in the parched places of the desert, in a salt land where no one lives.
But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream…” (Jeremiah 17: 5-8)
In our time and culture, the next words by Jeremiah may be even more important to internalize. The wisdom of our current times is that you just need to lead by heart and trust your own heart. That is a strange view because if there is no law above us, then we are only accountable to ourselves. Then our selfishness is what commands us to do things – this way or that way.
But the prophet specifically warned of trusting your own heart:
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and beyond cure.
Who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart
and examine the mind,
to reward each person according to their conduct,
according to what their deeds deserve.” (Jeremiah 17:9-10 NIV)
The Holocaust and Deception
When we think about the Holocaust, we realize that deception started years before the actual mass murder. Deception started as soon as the Nazi party started gaining power. For those who had joined the party early on they had obviously been deceived already before receiving any power.
Mass propaganda, uniforms, possibilities of personal advancement and taking revenge on anyone by renouncing them, these were just some of the things that may have appealed to people’s hearts. Nazism was not just about a political movement, but it appealed to people’s hearts and minds. That is why guarding our hearts and having a moral compass that is just above our own heart is so important.
Some Christians may feel that they are above this teaching. That is why I need to remind you that Nazi Germany was a very Christian country. Consequently, Nazism extended itself to churches and church leaders. Elsewhere I have argued that Nazism in some ways was a much stronger ideology than Christianity at the time. This sounds horrifying but we need to understand that the fanaticism of Nazi leaders and their followers was unmatched. It could be that if church leaders and church goers had been as fanatical Nazism would never have succeeded in Germany and elsewhere.
True character
So, did Jesus have anything to say about this? Is there anything in his teachings that relates to what we have been discussing here?
“Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you.” (Matthew 24:4 NIV)
This too is a commandment, and it is a very serious one. Because if you read the entire Matthew 24 you will see that the discussion is very much centered around things that we have seen happening. These include Jewish Diaspora around the world, their return to their ancient homeland and the situation we are in right now.
Some of the people who hate Israel right now are beyond remedy. In many instances it is impossible to have any kind of conversation with them because their hatred is so strong. But even more worrying is if the global church is no longer stand with Israel and this is what we all need to work on. Otherwise, we will be deceived by the mass propaganda and everything we see in the media.
And I am again going to have to make the point that at the time of writing (of this text) we are at a crucial point in time and history. The hostility Israel is facing right now is unprecedented.
What we need to do is to make sure that not just our nations but our churches are standing at the right side of history.
*For an explanation of the terms see the first Pearls of The Torah Portion Blog.
| Coral and crystal cannot be mentioned, and the striving for wisdom [is more precious] than pearls. | רָאמ֣וֹת וְ֖גָבִישׁ לֹ֣א יִזָּכֵ֑ר וּמֶ֥שֶׁךְ חָ֜כְמָ֗ה מִפְּנִינִֽים: |
Job 28:18 (NKJV)
Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.
Matthew 13:45-46 (NKJV)
Torah Scrolls were attacked and desecrated during the Holocaust. The enduring images of the Kristallnacht (November 9-10,1938) are those of synagogues on fire and Torah Scrolls burning. Some of these desecrated Torah Scrolls disappeared, others were buried. Some were lovingly rescued and are on display in museums in various locations.
