● This summary is adapted from the essay written by Rabbi Sacks in 2012, available here
After the financial crisis of 2008, most people faced increasing poverty year on year. Then in 2012, a news site reported: “The UK’s richest people have defied the double-dip recession to become even richer over the past year.” As the saying goes, There’s nothing surer: the rich get rich and the poor get poorer.
It is for this reason that the social laws of Behar were set out. They aim to avoid the trend toward radical and ever-increasing inequality in society. So we are given principles of protection: a sabbatical year - Shmittah - when all debts are released, Hebrew slaves are set free, and the produce of the land belongs to everyone. There is the jubilee year - Yovel - when, with some exceptions, ancestral land is returned to its original owners. There is a command to help the needy, and an obligation to move from slave-ownership to hiring paid workers.
Time and again these ancient laws have inspired those wrestling with issues of liberty, equity, and justice. The verse about the Jubilee Year, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” is even inscribed on the historic Liberty Bell on display in Philadelphia.
The Torah’s approach towards economic policy is unusual. Clearly we can make no direct inference from laws given more than 3000 years ago, to an agricultural society consciously under the sovereignty of God, to the circumstances of the 21st century with its global economy and international corporations. Applying the ancient texts to a contemporary world requires the careful process of tradition and rabbinic interpretation (Torah shebe’al peh).
Still, some enduring principles emerge. First, that work has dignity. Judaism values a productive economy and a working society. As the rabbis taught, “Torah study without an occupation will in the end fail and lead to sin.”
Second, Judaism affirms that people deserve the fruits of their labour. After all, Judaism is the religion of a people who were once slaves, yearning for freedom. As slaves we are deprived of the ownership of the wealth we create. At the heart of the Hebrew Bible is the God who seeks the free worship of free human beings, and one of the most powerful defences of freedom is private property which offers economic independence. The prophetic ideal is for every person to sit “under their own fig tree,” in peace and dignity.
The problem is, the market economy is better at producing wealth than at distributing it equitably. The concentration of wealth in a few hands gives disproportionate power to some at the cost of others. Today it is not unusual for CEOs to earn at least 400 times as much as their employees! This creates the opposite of economic growth and financial stability. The laws found in Behar offer another, better way. They tell us that an economic system must exist within a moral framework. It must respect human dignity. No one should become permanently imprisoned in the chains of debt. No one should be a slave to their employer. Everyone has the right – one day in seven, one year in seven – to a respite from the endless pressures of work. A periodic redistribution of the wealth can support a fairer world.
Directly beneath the details and laws is a vision of society that is profoundly humane. We are responsible for one another. Those who are blessed by God with more than they need should share more with those who have less. This, in Judaism, is not a matter of charity but of justice – that is what the word tzedakah means. Advanced economies today can learn a lot from the spirit of the laws of Behar. Humankind was not created to serve markets. Markets were made to serve the image of God that is humankind.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
What is the connection between the concept of liberty and poverty?
What would a world where everyone had “just enough” look like?
If you could change one thing about how money works in our world, what would it be?
On the Parsha
Written by Sara Lamm
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Parsha in a Nutshell
God sets out the laws of Shmittah, when every seventh year all land work stops and produce becomes free. After seven cycles is the fiftieth year (Yovel) when land work ceases, servants are freed, and ancestral lands return to their original owners. God also provides laws against fraud in land sales. He promises wealth and security if Bnai Yisrael follow His mitzvot, but warns of exile and hardship if they abandon them. Yet, He pledges never to forsake them completely. The section ends with the mitzvot of tithing of produce and livestock. These laws establish cycles of rest, freedom, and fairness within the community.
Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks
Delving Deeper
In his essay, Rabbi Sacks discusses the gap between rich and poor, and how, even during a recession and other economic setbacks, the gap keeps growing. It’s no surprise that the Torah has a solution for this problem. Every seven years, debts can be wiped clean, slaves can be freed, and everyone can eat whatever grows naturally in Israel. Every fifty years, land returns to the original families who owned it.
Judaism values hard work and knows markets are great for creating wealth, but they need some guardrails so people don’t get crushed. No one should be trapped in endless debt, or compelled to work without breaks. Those with extra should share with those who don’t have enough - not as charity but as justice.
It’s pretty simple: we learn from the Torah that we’re all in this together. Markets weren’t created to rule over us - they’re tools that should serve people, not the other way around.
What would you grow if you owned your own farm?
What would you do during the 7th year?
Imagine you had all the wealth in the world. How would you use your wealth as a tool to help others?
Parsha Activity
Seven Second Shmittah
In each round assign one player as the timekeeper. The timekeeper announces a category (like ‘animals’ or ‘colours’) and counts to seven. Every other player must quickly stand up, spin around once, sit back down, and name something fitting the category, all before the count reaches seven! Players who don’t complete these actions in time receive a letter from the word, Shmittah. Last to receive the letter ‘h’ wins the game.
A Story for the Ages
A Miracle in the Banana Orchard
Our story begins with a man named Mo, a secular banana farmer living in Tiveria. Mo made the unusual step to observe Shmittah (the sabbatical year) - even though none of his farmer friends were doing the same - because he had heard it was important to the religiously-observant neighbours in the area.
That winter, Israel was hit by a severe cold spell, and Mo was visiting his sister in Tel Aviv when he received alarming phone calls from the other farmers. They were all noticing that the frost had destroyed all their banana crops. The cold destroys bananas, and frost almost always turns the ripening fruit brown and rock-hard, which is why bananas tend to thrive in sunny and tropical climates. “How’s your crop, Mo? As bad as ours?” But Mo didn’t know, for he was far from his orchard.
With dread in his heart, Mo drove to Tiveria to inspect the damage. As he passed through neighbouring orchards, each one was the same: complete devastation. It seemed not a single fruit had survived. Preparing himself for the worst, the farmer drove down the lane and into his land. But, when he reached his banana orchard, his mouth fell open in disbelief. His bananas were perfect, yellow and green. Despite bordering the damaged orchards, not one of his trees showed frost damage, as if protected by an invisible wall.
He immediately shouted excitedly “A miracle has happened!” His customers were thrilled to purchase bananas from the orchard, seeing it as a living testament to God’s promise: Keep Shmittah, and I’ll take care of you!
Why do you we let the land rest?ed your own farm?
What does a “mandated rest” remind you of?
On the Haftara
Written by Rabbi Barry Kleinberg
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
In Jeremiah 32:6–27 (the Haftara for Behar), the prophet Jeremiah, imprisoned by King Zedekiah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, recounts a divine command to purchase a field in Anatot from his cousin Hanamel. Despite the dire circumstances, God instructs Jeremiah to buy the land as a symbolic act of hope, indicating that fields and property will once again be bought in the land after the exile. Jeremiah obeys, records the transaction, and stores the deed securely. He then prays to God, expressing awe at God’s power and questioning how restoration is possible amid such destruction. God responds, affirming His sovereignty and power - “Is anything too hard for Me?” - and confirms that, although judgment is coming due to Israel’s sins, He will eventually restore the people and land. This passage highlights themes of faith, obedience, and future redemption despite present despair.
In Jeremiah 16:19–17:14 (the Haftara for Bechukotai), the prophet praises God as his strength and refuge, foretelling that nations will one day abandon their false gods and recognize the truth of the Lord. God warns that Judah’s sin is deeply engraved on their hearts, and their idolatry will bring judgment. The passage contrasts two types of people: those who trust in humans—compared to barren shrubs in the desert—and those who trust in the Lord—likened to flourishing trees by water. God reminds that the human heart is deceitful and only He can truly judge and reward each person according to their actions. Jeremiah acknowledges God’s justice and pleads for healing and deliverance. This passage emphasises trust in God over human strength, the inevitability of Divine judgment, and the hope for restoration and spiritual renewal through sincere faith and repentance.
Points to Ponder
Should we trust only in God?
How much effort should we put into helping ourselves, in conjunction with our faith in God’s help?
Tanach Connections
Parsha & Haftara Links
The Haftara read this week connects to Parshat Bechukotai (rather than Behar). There are clear links to the Parsha in relation to the words spoken by Jeremiah to the people.
In chapter 17 of Jeremiah (verses 5 and 7) the prophet states that “Cursed is the man that trusts in man” and “Blessed is the man that trusts in the lord.”
These contrasting verses echo the main themes of the Parsha which detail the blessings God will grant for obedience to His laws and the curses that will fall on the Jewish people should they decide to ignore the commandments.
Interestingly, in the Parsha of Bechukotai we begin with blessings and then move on to the curses. In the Haftara the order is reversed. Despite the different order, both texts end with a promise of good things to come.
Putting the Haftara into Context
On the Book of Jeremiah
Rabbi Sacks described Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) in the following way: Yirmiyahu was the leader who defined for all time the role of Jews in the Diaspora: ‘Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its prosperity you shall prosper’ (Jeremiah 29:7) – the first statement in history of what it is to be a creative minority.
Why did this universal perspective matter? Because those who care only for their own people are chauvinists. They create false expectations, narrow and self-regarding emotions, and bravado rather than real courage.
Moshe had to show (as he did when he rescued Yitro’s daughters from the local shepherds, see Ex. 2:17) that he cared for non-Israelites as well as Israelites. Yirmiyahu was told by God to become a “prophet to the nations,” not just to Israel (see Jer. 1:5). Yishayahu in one of the most remarkable prophecies of all time showed as much concern for Egypt and Assyria, Israel’s enemies, as for Israel itself (see Isaiah 19:19-25).
Great leaders are great not just because they care for their own people – everyone except a self-hater does that – but because they care for humanity. That is what gives their devotion to their own people its dignity and moral strength. Through Jeremiah’s leadership we learn how to care for the good of all, a
perspective that is increasingly important in this world.
Quote of the Week
“I believe that being warned of the bad helps us to choose the good. Too often we make the wrong choices because we don’t think of the consequences.”
The Power of a Curse, Behar, Covenant & Conversation
Further Ponderings
If you needed to have a medical procedure, would you want to know about all the risks as well as the benefits?
Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks’ weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the
Family Edition
is aimed at connecting teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha.
With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship of Covenant &
Conversation, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel.
“I have loved the Torah of R’ Chaim Schimmel ever since I first encountered it. It
strives to be not just about truth on the surface but also its connection to a
deeper truth beneath. Together with Anna, his remarkable wife of 60 years, they
built a life dedicated to love of family, community, and Torah. An extraordinary
couple who have moved me beyond measure by the example of their lives.” — Rabbi
Sacks
The Limits of the Free Market
Family Edition
Bechukotai
Inspired by the teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
Download PDF
Main Essay
Behar, Bechukotai
The Limits of the Free Market
Read More >
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The Summary
● This summary is adapted from the essay written by Rabbi Sacks in 2012, available here
After the financial crisis of 2008, most people faced increasing poverty year on year. Then in 2012, a news site reported: “The UK’s richest people have defied the double-dip recession to become even richer over the past year.” As the saying goes, There’s nothing surer: the rich get rich and the poor get poorer.
It is for this reason that the social laws of Behar were set out. They aim to avoid the trend toward radical and ever-increasing inequality in society. So we are given principles of protection: a sabbatical year - Shmittah - when all debts are released, Hebrew slaves are set free, and the produce of the land belongs to everyone. There is the jubilee year - Yovel - when, with some exceptions, ancestral land is returned to its original owners. There is a command to help the needy, and an obligation to move from slave-ownership to hiring paid workers.
Time and again these ancient laws have inspired those wrestling with issues of liberty, equity, and justice. The verse about the Jubilee Year, “Proclaim Liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof” is even inscribed on the historic Liberty Bell on display in Philadelphia.
The Torah’s approach towards economic policy is unusual. Clearly we can make no direct inference from laws given more than 3000 years ago, to an agricultural society consciously under the sovereignty of God, to the circumstances of the 21st century with its global economy and international corporations. Applying the ancient texts to a contemporary world requires the careful process of tradition and rabbinic interpretation (Torah shebe’al peh).
Still, some enduring principles emerge. First, that work has dignity. Judaism values a productive economy and a working society. As the rabbis taught, “Torah study without an occupation will in the end fail and lead to sin.”
Second, Judaism affirms that people deserve the fruits of their labour. After all, Judaism is the religion of a people who were once slaves, yearning for freedom. As slaves we are deprived of the ownership of the wealth we create. At the heart of the Hebrew Bible is the God who seeks the free worship of free human beings, and one of the most powerful defences of freedom is private property which offers economic independence. The prophetic ideal is for every person to sit “under their own fig tree,” in peace and dignity.
The problem is, the market economy is better at producing wealth than at distributing it equitably. The concentration of wealth in a few hands gives disproportionate power to some at the cost of others. Today it is not unusual for CEOs to earn at least 400 times as much as their employees! This creates the opposite of economic growth and financial stability. The laws found in Behar offer another, better way. They tell us that an economic system must exist within a moral framework. It must respect human dignity. No one should become permanently imprisoned in the chains of debt. No one should be a slave to their employer. Everyone has the right – one day in seven, one year in seven – to a respite from the endless pressures of work. A periodic redistribution of the wealth can support a fairer world.
Directly beneath the details and laws is a vision of society that is profoundly humane. We are responsible for one another. Those who are blessed by God with more than they need should share more with those who have less. This, in Judaism, is not a matter of charity but of justice – that is what the word tzedakah means. Advanced economies today can learn a lot from the spirit of the laws of Behar. Humankind was not created to serve markets. Markets were made to serve the image of God that is humankind.
Around the Shabbat Table
Questions to Ponder
On the Parsha
Written by Sara Lamm
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Parsha in a Nutshell
God sets out the laws of Shmittah, when every seventh year all land work stops and produce becomes free. After seven cycles is the fiftieth year (Yovel) when land work ceases, servants are freed, and ancestral lands return to their original owners. God also provides laws against fraud in land sales. He promises wealth and security if Bnai Yisrael follow His mitzvot, but warns of exile and hardship if they abandon them. Yet, He pledges never to forsake them completely. The section ends with the mitzvot of tithing of produce and livestock. These laws establish cycles of rest, freedom, and fairness within the community.
Philosophy of Rabbi Sacks
Delving Deeper
In his essay, Rabbi Sacks discusses the gap between rich and poor, and how, even during a recession and other economic setbacks, the gap keeps growing. It’s no surprise that the Torah has a solution for this problem. Every seven years, debts can be wiped clean, slaves can be freed, and everyone can eat whatever grows naturally in Israel. Every fifty years, land returns to the original families who owned it.
Judaism values hard work and knows markets are great for creating wealth, but they need some guardrails so people don’t get crushed. No one should be trapped in endless debt, or compelled to work without breaks. Those with extra should share with those who don’t have enough - not as charity but as justice.
It’s pretty simple: we learn from the Torah that we’re all in this together. Markets weren’t created to rule over us - they’re tools that should serve people, not the other way around.
Parsha Activity
Seven Second Shmittah
In each round assign one player as the timekeeper. The timekeeper announces a category (like ‘animals’ or ‘colours’) and counts to seven. Every other player must quickly stand up, spin around once, sit back down, and name something fitting the category, all before the count reaches seven! Players who don’t complete these actions in time receive a letter from the word, Shmittah. Last to receive the letter ‘h’ wins the game.
A Story for the Ages
A Miracle in the Banana Orchard
Our story begins with a man named Mo, a secular banana farmer living in Tiveria. Mo made the unusual step to observe Shmittah (the sabbatical year) - even though none of his farmer friends were doing the same - because he had heard it was important to the religiously-observant neighbours in the area.
That winter, Israel was hit by a severe cold spell, and Mo was visiting his sister in Tel Aviv when he received alarming phone calls from the other farmers. They were all noticing that the frost had destroyed all their banana crops. The cold destroys bananas, and frost almost always turns the ripening fruit brown and rock-hard, which is why bananas tend to thrive in sunny and tropical climates. “How’s your crop, Mo? As bad as ours?” But Mo didn’t know, for he was far from his orchard.
With dread in his heart, Mo drove to Tiveria to inspect the damage. As he passed through neighbouring orchards, each one was the same: complete devastation. It seemed not a single fruit had survived. Preparing himself for the worst, the farmer drove down the lane and into his land. But, when he reached his banana orchard, his mouth fell open in disbelief. His bananas were perfect, yellow and green. Despite bordering the damaged orchards, not one of his trees showed frost damage, as if protected by an invisible wall.
He immediately shouted excitedly “A miracle has happened!” His customers were thrilled to purchase bananas from the orchard, seeing it as a living testament to God’s promise: Keep Shmittah, and I’ll take care of you!
On the Haftara
Written by Rabbi Barry Kleinberg
Inspired by the Teachings of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks
The Haftara reading
in a Nutshell
Behar: Jeremiah 32:6-27 (Ashkenazim & Sephardim), 16:19-17:14 (Yemenites)
Bechukotai: Jeremiah 16:19-17:14 (Ashkenazim & Sephardim), Ezekiel 34:1-27 (Yemenites)
In Jeremiah 32:6–27 (the Haftara for Behar), the prophet Jeremiah, imprisoned by King Zedekiah during the Babylonian siege of Jerusalem, recounts a divine command to purchase a field in Anatot from his cousin Hanamel. Despite the dire circumstances, God instructs Jeremiah to buy the land as a symbolic act of hope, indicating that fields and property will once again be bought in the land after the exile. Jeremiah obeys, records the transaction, and stores the deed securely. He then prays to God, expressing awe at God’s power and questioning how restoration is possible amid such destruction. God responds, affirming His sovereignty and power - “Is anything too hard for Me?” - and confirms that, although judgment is coming due to Israel’s sins, He will eventually restore the people and land. This passage highlights themes of faith, obedience, and future redemption despite present despair.
In Jeremiah 16:19–17:14 (the Haftara for Bechukotai), the prophet praises God as his strength and refuge, foretelling that nations will one day abandon their false gods and recognize the truth of the Lord. God warns that Judah’s sin is deeply engraved on their hearts, and their idolatry will bring judgment. The passage contrasts two types of people: those who trust in humans—compared to barren shrubs in the desert—and those who trust in the Lord—likened to flourishing trees by water. God reminds that the human heart is deceitful and only He can truly judge and reward each person according to their actions. Jeremiah acknowledges God’s justice and pleads for healing and deliverance. This passage emphasises trust in God over human strength, the inevitability of Divine judgment, and the hope for restoration and spiritual renewal through sincere faith and repentance.
Points to Ponder
Tanach Connections
Parsha & Haftara Links
The Haftara read this week connects to Parshat Bechukotai (rather than Behar). There are clear links to the Parsha in relation to the words spoken by Jeremiah to the people.
In chapter 17 of Jeremiah (verses 5 and 7) the prophet states that “Cursed is the man that trusts in man” and “Blessed is the man that trusts in the lord.”
These contrasting verses echo the main themes of the Parsha which detail the blessings God will grant for obedience to His laws and the curses that will fall on the Jewish people should they decide to ignore the commandments.
Interestingly, in the Parsha of Bechukotai we begin with blessings and then move on to the curses. In the Haftara the order is reversed. Despite the different order, both texts end with a promise of good things to come.
Putting the Haftara into Context
On the Book of Jeremiah
Rabbi Sacks described Jeremiah (Yirmiyahu) in the following way: Yirmiyahu was the leader who defined for all time the role of Jews in the Diaspora: ‘Seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its prosperity you shall prosper’ (Jeremiah 29:7) – the first statement in history of what it is to be a creative minority.
Why did this universal perspective matter? Because those who care only for their own people are chauvinists. They create false expectations, narrow and self-regarding emotions, and bravado rather than real courage.
Moshe had to show (as he did when he rescued Yitro’s daughters from the local shepherds, see Ex. 2:17) that he cared for non-Israelites as well as Israelites. Yirmiyahu was told by God to become a “prophet to the nations,” not just to Israel (see Jer. 1:5). Yishayahu in one of the most remarkable prophecies of all time showed as much concern for Egypt and Assyria, Israel’s enemies, as for Israel itself (see Isaiah 19:19-25).
Great leaders are great not just because they care for their own people – everyone except a self-hater does that – but because they care for humanity. That is what gives their devotion to their own people its dignity and moral strength. Through Jeremiah’s leadership we learn how to care for the good of all, a
perspective that is increasingly important in this world.
Quote of the Week
“I believe that being warned of the bad helps us to choose the good. Too often we make the wrong choices because we don’t think of the consequences.”
The Power of a Curse, Behar, Covenant & Conversation
Further Ponderings
If you needed to have a medical procedure, would you want to know about all the risks as well as the benefits?
Written as an accompaniment to Rabbi Sacks’ weekly Covenant & Conversation essay, the Family Edition is aimed at connecting teenagers with his ideas and thoughts on the parsha.
With thanks to the Schimmel Family for their generous sponsorship of Covenant & Conversation, dedicated in loving memory of Harry (Chaim) Schimmel.
Eternity and Mortality
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