The mitzvot of Behar

That we not work the land on the seventh year

Negative · Leviticus 25:4

The mitzvah fixes in our hearts that the world was created - just as God created in six days and rested on the seventh, we count six years and rest in the seventh, so the matter never leaves our eyes. In this way a person remembers that the land does not yield its fruit by its own power, for there is a Master over it and over its owners. Moreover, one who leaves his land for a whole year acquires generosity and grows in his trust in God.

That we also not do work with the trees

Negative · Leviticus 25:4

The root of resting from work on the trees is the root of the whole Sabbatical year. Just as God created the world in six days and rested on the seventh, so we work six years and rest in the seventh, remembering that the land does not yield its fruit by its own power but by the will of its Master. And one who leaves his field and his vineyard for a whole year acquires generosity and grows in his trust in God.

That we not harvest the aftergrowth on the seventh year

Negative · Leviticus 25:5

The Torah wants a person in the seventh year to behave as though nothing is in his possession, but everything is in the possession of the Master of all. Therefore even what the land grows by itself is not to be reaped in the usual way of reapers, and so we remember that the world was created and learn that the land and its fruit belong to God.

That we not gather the fruit of the trees in the seventh year in the manner that we gather them in every year

Negative · Leviticus 25:5

The root of this mitzvah is the root of the whole Sabbatical year. When a person gathers the fruit of his tree differently, not in his usual way of every year, he shows that in this year everything is as ownerless, and remembers that the land is not wholly his, but has a Master over it. And through this he acquires generosity and strengthens his trust in God.

The commandment of counting the seven cycles of seven years

Positive · Leviticus 25:8

God wished to make known to His people that everything is His, and that in the end every inheritance returns to the one He wished to give it to in the first place, for the land is His. Through counting the years up to the Jubilee, people will keep themselves from seizing their fellow's land or coveting it, knowing that everything will return to its owner. And the author of the Chinuch adds that the sages saw a great secret in the counting by sevens, which recurs in the Sabbaths, the Sabbatical year, the Jubilee and the festivals.

The commandment of blowing the shofar on Yom Yippur of the Jubilee

Positive · Leviticus 25:9

The sound of the shofar stirs people's hearts, and freeing a servant who has served his master for a long time is very hard in the master's eyes. So the shofar is sounded throughout the land, and when everyone hears that the thing is being done everywhere and by all, the heart is strengthened to fulfil the mitzvah, for nothing strengthens hearts like the deed of the many. The servant himself is also roused to go out to freedom, and so everything returns to the possession of the Master of all.

The commandment of the sanctification of the Jubilee year

Positive · Leviticus 25:10

The sanctity of the fiftieth year comes from the same root as the counting of the Jubilee years. God wished to grant His people the merit of accepting His kingship and to make known to them that the land is His, and so in this year the produce is ownerless, servants go free and inheritances return to their owners.

That we not work the land on the Jubilee year

Negative · Leviticus 25:11

The root of resting in the Jubilee is like the root of the Sabbatical year and the counting of the years. In the fiftieth year the land rests from work, so that we remember that the land belongs to God and that He is the one who gives its fruit, and so that no one thinks his inheritance is his absolute property.

To not harvest the aftergrowth of the produce of the Jubilee year

Negative · Leviticus 25:11

As in the seventh year, in the Jubilee year too what grows by itself is not reaped in the usual way of reapers, but differently. In this way a person shows that in this year nothing is exclusively his, and everything belongs to the Master of all.

To not gather the fruits of the trees on the Jubilee year in the manner that we gather them in other years

Negative · Leviticus 25:11

The law of the Sabbatical year and of the Jubilee is one, and it all springs from a single root. When a person gathers the fruit of the tree in the Jubilee year differently, not in his way of other years, he shows that the fruit is as ownerless, and remembers that the land and its fruit belong to God.

The commandment of adjudicating between the buyer and the seller

Positive · Leviticus 25:14

The root of the laws is well known, for reason bears witness to it and seeks it - only through just judgment does human society endure. And buying and selling is a constant matter, without which people cannot live even a single day, and therefore a special mitzvah was given for it.

To not mistreat in buying and selling

Negative · Leviticus 25:14

Reason bears witness that it is not right to take people's money through falsehood and deceit, but that each should honestly gain what God grants him through his toil. The benefit is for everyone, for just as he will not cheat others, others will not cheat him, and even one who knows how to deceive better than his fellows - perhaps his children will not be like him and will find themselves deceived. So the matter turns out equal for all, and its benefit to the settled world is great.

To not mistreat any Israelite with words

Negative · Leviticus 25:17

The root of this mitzvah is well known - to bring peace among people. Great is peace, for through it blessing is found in the world, and grievous is strife, for so many curses and stumbling blocks hang upon it.

That we not sell a field in the Land of Israel in perpetuity

Negative · Leviticus 25:23

The root of this mitzvah is the root of the whole Jubilee. God wished to make known that the land is His, and that every inheritance returns in the end to the one He gave it to at the start. Therefore a field is not to be sold in perpetuity, so that no one thinks he can remove an inheritance from the owners God appointed for it.

The commandment of returning land to its owners on the Jubilee

Positive · Leviticus 25:24

God wished to make known to His people that everything is His, and that every piece of land returns to the one to whom God wished to give it as a holding, and so people will keep far from coveting and seizing their fellow's land. It is like kings who from time to time take back their nobles' lands to remind them who is master. But they do so out of fear that the nobles will rebel against them, whereas God commanded this to grant us merit and to do us good.

The law of redemption of houses of walled cities until the completion of a year

Positive · Leviticus 25:29

The Chinuch explains briefly that a house in a walled city not redeemed within a year passes permanently to the buyer out of love for the Land, as a kind of penalty the Torah placed on the seller. In this way the seller will strive to redeem his house quickly and not let his inheritance slip from his hands.

To not change the open areas of the Levites

Negative · Leviticus 25:34

The cities of the Levites served all the tribes, for the tribe of Levi was chosen for the service of God and its occupation was wisdom and teaching the Torah, and among its cities were also the cities of refuge. So the eyes of all Israel were turned to these cities, and it was fitting that they be of the utmost beauty and grace, to the credit of all Israel. And since the Master of wisdom set their bounds and saw that it was good, any change in them is only a diminishing.

To not lend with interest to an Israelite

Negative · Leviticus 25:37

God desires the well-being of His people, so He removed from their path a stumbling block through which one swallows his fellow's money without his even noticing, until his house is emptied of all good. Such is the way of interest, and therefore it is called neshech, a bite. And when the lender, the guarantor, the witnesses and the scribe all refrain from taking part in it, people keep away from it.

That we not make a Hebrew slave perform demeaning work, like the work of a Canaanite slave

Negative · Leviticus 25:39

The Hebrew servant is a son of the honoured nation, and when a person is careful of his dignity he learns to love his people and its Torah. He will also remember that just as this man was sold because of his hardship, the same could happen to him or to his children if sin brings it about, and with this thought he will guard himself from sin. Moreover, in this way a person trains his soul in kindness and compassion and keeps far from cruelty.

That we not sell a Hebrew slave upon the auctioning stone

Negative · Leviticus 25:42

The root of this mitzvah is well known - it is not right for a person to make light of his fellow's dignity, even if his sins have brought him to be sold. For he does not know whether tomorrow he too may come to such a state.

To not make a Hebrew slave perform oppressive work

Negative · Leviticus 25:43

The Chinuch does not dwell on the root of this mitzvah, but he remarks that its spirit should be kept even today toward poor people who work in one's home. A person should take to heart that wealth and poverty are a wheel that turns in the world, and God gives them to whom He sees fit and for as long as He wishes. Therefore one must not burden his fellow with hard and needless labour, for what is in his own hands can also be lost through his sin.

The commandment of work with a Canaanite slave forever

Positive · Leviticus 25:46

The Chinuch explains that the people of Israel were meant to know their Creator and serve Him, and they need help with their labours. Had they no servants from the nations, the children of Israel would be forced to serve one another and would not be free for the service of God, and this is what the verse says right after - that no one shall rule over his brother harshly. And since the foundation of the mitzvah is to increase the service of God, the sages permitted freeing a servant when doing so brings about a mitzvah, such as completing a minyan.

To not allow a gentile to work a Hebrew slave sold to him

Negative · Leviticus 25:53

The Chinuch writes that the root of this mitzvah is plain to all. Even when a Jew has sold himself to a gentile he is still our brother, and we must not let him be worked harshly before our eyes merely because he brought it upon himself.

That we not prostrate ourselves on a figured stone, even to God

Negative · Leviticus 26:1

The Rambam wrote that this was the practice of idol worshippers - to set a decorated, handsome stone before the idol and bow down upon it. The Chinuch adds that one who bows on such a stone looks as though he is bowing to the stone itself, which is lasting and beautiful, and so there is room for suspicion. The Torah keeps a person far from anything that might bring suspicion on him, and also so that others will not stumble after him.