Leviticus 25:1-27:34
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai, comprising the final double portion of Vayikra, encompasses a richly textured matrix of mitzvoth, divine assurances, and warnings, through which the identity of Israel as a holy people consecrated unto Mar-Yah is further refined. Here, within these sacred ordinances, the covenantal dynamics between Mar-Yah and Israel are revealed in legal, theological, and eschatological dimensions.
Parashat Behar begins with a most significant assertion: “And Mar-Yah spoke unto Moshe in Mount Sinai…” (Leviticus 25:1). The placement of this declaration is intentional. It signals that the laws which follow, pertaining to the Sabbatical year and Jubilee, were received at Sinai, bearing equal authority to the Decalogue and other covenantal ordinances.
The Sabbatical Year
The land, which belongs ultimately to Mar-Yah, is given a rest every seventh year: “Six years you shall sow your field, and six years shall you prune your vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof; but in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for Mar-Yah.” (Leviticus 25:3–4)
Herein is revealed a theology of land that is certainly different from surrounding ancient Near Eastern cultures. The land is not an extension of the king’s domain, nor a possession of the people, but a sacred trust from Mar-Yah Alaha. The land itself observes a Sabbath unto its Creator, just as Israel does. The ecological, social, and spiritual implications are quite deep. Economically, it guards against greed; socially, it prevents generational inequity; spiritually, it reaffirms the sovereignty of Mar-Yah.
The Jubilee
Every fiftieth year, a shofar is sounded, and liberty is proclaimed throughout the land: “And you shall sanctify the year, the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim a release upon the land to all that inhabit it; it shall be given a year of release, a jubilee for you; and each one shall depart to his possession, and you shall go each to his family.” (Leviticus 25:10) This verse famously graces the Liberty Bell of the United States, but in the original context, it proclaims an economic and social reversion to equity—debts forgiven, land returned, and liberty restored. The theological foundation of Yovel lies in the divine ownership of all things: “And the land shall not be sold for a permanence; for the land is mine, because you are strangers and sojourners before me” (v. 23).
Here we see a microcosm of eschatological hope. The Jubilee is not only an economic policy, but an image of the Messianic Age. In the Nazareth synagogue, Yeshua reads from Isaiah 61, which echoes Jubilee themes, and declares: “This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.” (Luke 4:21). In Him, the eschatological Jubilee has begun, inaugurating the Kingdom of Mar-Yah.
Redemption of Property and Persons
The laws concerning the redemption of land and enslaved persons reflect a vision of justice grounded in covenantal kinship and the dignity of every Israelite. No one is to be left perpetually disenfranchised. This is a divine check against systemic poverty. Again, the theological assertion is clear: “For the children of Israel are my servants: they are my attendants, whom I brought out of the land of Egypt.” (Leviticus 25:55). No Israelite may be permanently enslaved, for all are servants only of Mar-Yah Alaha.
Parashat Bechukotai
This second portion closes Sefer Vayikra with a covenantal structure or treaty, mirroring the suzerainty treaties of the ancient world—blessings for obedience (vv. 3–13) and curses for disobedience (vv. 14–46), followed by a legal appendix regarding vows and dedications (chapter 27).
The Blessings
The blessings are lush and Edenic in character. “If you will walk in my ordinances, and keep my commandments, and do them, then will I give you the rain in its season, and the land shall produce its fruits, and the trees of the field shall yield their fruit.” (Leviticus 26:3-4)
The rewards for obedience extend not only to agricultural abundance and military security, but to the ultimate blessing. “And I will set my tabernacle among you, and my soul shall not abhor you; and I will walk among you, and be your Alaha, and you shall be my people.” (vv. 11–12) This last phrase hearkens back to the Garden of Eden, where Mar-Yah walked amidst His creation (Genesis 3:8), and forward to the vision of the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:3). The covenant, when kept, ushers in divine communion.
The Curses
What follows is one of the most haunting warnings in Torah. The covenant, though abundant in mercy, is not without demand. The punishments for covenantal infidelity escalate through a series of intensifying chastisements. These are not vindictive but disciplinary, intended to bring Israel to teshuvah.
“And if hereupon you will not obey me, but walk perversely towards me, then will I walk with you with a froward mind, and I will chasten you seven-fold according to your sins.” (vv. 27–28) This terrifying symmetry shows the reciprocal nature of covenant relationship. Yet even within the curses, a note of hope remains as we see in verses 41-42. “…then shall their uncircumcised heart be ashamed, and then shall they acquiesce in the punishment of their sins. And I will remember the covenant of Jacob, and the covenant of Isaac, and the covenant of Abraham will I remember.”
Here is the heartbeat of Mar-Yah’s faithfulness. Even in chastisement, He remembers His covenant. As the Apostle Paul—Saul of Tarsus—affirmed: “For the gifts and calling of Alaha are without repentance.” (Romans 11:29)
Vows and Dedications
This final chapter, often overlooked, brings the book full circle. It deals with voluntary offerings—vows of persons, animals, and properties. The book which began with obligatory offerings ends with voluntary devotion. This reflects the movement from command to love, from duty to desire. That which is freely given unto Mar-Yah is holy, and even here, regulations serve to ensure the sanctity and dignity of such offerings.
Together, these parashot unveil the fundamental vision of Israel as a covenantal society. Land, people, economics, and worship are unified under the sovereignty of Mar-Yah. The Jubilee and Sabbatical Year proclaim that time, possession, and economy are all subject to divine rhythm. The blessings and curses illustrate that covenantal fidelity has real consequences—social, spiritual, and historical.
For those who follow Yeshua Mshikha within a Hebraic-Orthodox frame, these passages illuminate much. In Yeshua, the true Jubilee is inaugurated. In His resurrection, the curse is broken, and the presence of Mar-Yah among His people is renewed by Rukha d’Kudsha. Yet the ethical imperatives of these mitzvoth remain as signposts of the Kingdom—economic justice, land stewardship, mercy for the indebted, and reverence for divine ordinances.
The final verse of Bechukotai reads: “These are the commandments which Mar-Yah commanded Moshe for the sons of Israel in mount Sinai.” (Leviticus 27:34) Thus ends Vayikra, a book consecrated to holiness. The ordinances within call us not only to liturgical sanctity but to the sanctification of life itself—through justice, mercy, and the perpetual remembrance that “You shall be holy; for I Mar-Yah your Alaha am holy.” (Leviticus 19:2)
May all heed these words not simply as historical statutes, but as divine revelation pointing toward the fullness of the Kingdom of Alaha, when every shofar shall sound and all creation shall know liberty in Yeshua the Anointed One.
Chayim bar Ya’aqub