The forgiveness of debt

The forgiveness of debt

The transfer of goods and property provides ample opportunity for the destruction of personal relationships

Amnesty is the forgiveness of debt, forgiveness being the operative word. Parashat Behar begins by describing what takes place during the Sabbatical year. Every seven years, the land must rest. (The word for sabbatical –shabbaton, is from the same root as shabbat. As we rest on the seventh day, the land of Israel rests on the seventh year.) In the fiftieth year, the Jubilee year, things get interesting:

In this year of jubilee, each of you shall return to his holding. When you sell property to your neighbor, or buy any from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. In buying from your neighbor, you shall deduct only for the number of years since the jubilee; and in selling to you, he shall charge you only for the remaining crop years: the more such years, the higher the price you pay; the fewer such years, the lower the price; for what he is selling you is a number of harvests. Do not wrong one another, but fear your God; for I the Lord am your God. (Leviticus 25:13-17)

Every fifty years, the land returns to its original holder. Though the ultimate owner is God, there is still a chance of wrongdoing in selling the land from one holder to another, especially once you get close to the Jubilee year. Twice within the space of four verses (Leviticus 25:14, 17) we are warned not to wrong one another. Traditional commentaries explain the first "wronging" as having to do with business dealings. Baruch Levine argues that the word used for wrong tonu refers to "economic oppression or fraud":

The value of leases on the land was to be computed in terms of crop years. Since land that was "sold" would revert to its original owners at the next Jubilee, the price was to be equivalent to the number of crops the purchaser would realize from the land before that occasion. (The JPS Torah Commentary: Leviticus, Baruch Levine p. 173)

Nonetheless, the notion of wronging one another is repeated. Rashi, drawing on Bava Metzia 58b, explains this second usage as wronging with words. While Rashi relates this to giving intentionally bad advice, the Talmudic passage takes it to another level: One must not remind a person who has repented of the past transgression; one must not recall previous suffering or question the person’s integrity. The second occurrence of wronging one another also reminds the individual to fear God. The shame brought about through personal conduct is worse than the hurt of a business transgression.

Interestingly the Jubilee begins on Yom Kippur, a time when we undergo a moral stocktaking. Forget property for a moment, the human being is a much more precious commodity. Business dealings consist of transactions of property, material goods and money. Beyond taking advantage of another person, the transfer of goods and property provides ample opportunity for the destruction of personal relationships.

As we near the end Leviticus, we need a reminder that holiness is maintained through our actions. Respect for property lent to us is an example of respect for its owner. Ultimately, respect for the owner is respect for the Creator.

Shabbat shalom,
Rabbi Michal Shekel