[00:00:00] Speaker A: If you appreciate life hacks, I've got some tips you need to know. I've been doing some research and I've come up with some great advice that I want to share with you. Here we go. Number one, if you run out of dishwasher detergent, just substitute it with regular dish soap. Number two, need more money? Just open another credit card. It's free money. Number three, need to charge your cell phone super quick. Just throw it into the microwave. I'm sure no one has given you advice this bad, but I'm also sure that you've been given some terrible advice in your lifetime. But how does bad advice like this relate to our weekly Torah portion? Let's take a look together in this week's five minute Torah.
Welcome back, Shalomis. Welcome to another episode of five minute Torah. Before we get into the actual five minutes or so of the five minute Torah, here's a brief overview of this week's Torah reading. This week we are studying the portion of Bihar Leviticus 25 126. Two, and here are the three things that you need to know about it. Number one, the shemitah, the sabbatical year. In this week's Torah portion, God gives Israel the laws of the Shemitah, or the sabbatical year. For six years they are to work the land, but in the 7th year they must neither sow, prune, or harvest. Instead, they are to let the fields and the vineyards grow wild, gathering only what they need for the moment, a practice that teaches them to trust in the Lord to provide for their needs during the rest of the year. Not only this, but they were to release all debt owed by a fellow Israelite in the 7th year. Although this aspect isn't spelled out in our current Torah reading, it can be found in Exodus 21, Deuteronomy 15, and chapter 31. Number two, the yovel the jubilee year. Not only was Israel commanded to let the land rest every seven years during the shemitah, but also to observe a yovel or jubilee every 50th year. Like the shemitah, the jubilee required that the land lie fallow, meaning no sowing, pruning or harvesting was to be done. In addition to this, the jubilee involved a reset for the land where all property was returned to its ancestral owners, restoring family inheritances. This practice applied to all land except for properties within walled cities, which could only be redeemed within the first year after the sale. The jubilee served as a means to prevent long term poverty and economic disparity by ensuring that no family would permanently lose their land and heritage. It reinforced this principle that gods land ultimately belongs to God and that the people of Israel are merely its stewards. Three Gimilu Hasidim acts of loving kindness our Torah portion includes several prohibitions against exploiting fellow Israelites, such as charging interest on loans. It also outlines specific steps to assist an Israelite who has become impoverished, providing ways to help them regain their footing. These measures include supporting them before they fall into severe poverty, buying back property they had to sell, and ensuring that they are treated with dignity and respect. By following these guidelines, Israel is encouraged to uphold justice, compassion and solidarity, ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to thrive and maintain their place within the community. If you're looking for a place to learn, connect and grow, then Shalom Macon is the place. It doesn't matter where you are in the world. You can find a connection with Shalom Macon through our live services every Saturday and through our private social network we call Shalom at home. Check us out on YouTube and on our
[email protected], for more information. We look forward to connecting with you and seeing you this Shabbat this week's Torah commentary is called bad advice and comes from my book five minute Torah, volume two. The Torah portion, Bahar, is filled primarily with the laws concerning the Shemitah, the Sabbath year, the yovel, the jubilee, and the laws of redemption, although many other topics are covered as well. While detailing the laws of the yovel, chapters 25 822, the Torah gives us a broad commendation. You shall not wrong one another, but you shall fear your God, for I am the Lord your God.
In the immediate context, this admonition is given in regard to the fair pricing of property in the context of the jubilee year. As it stated just a few verses previously, if you make a sale to your neighbor or buy from your neighbor, you shall not wrong one another. This is verse 14. When a plot of land is purchased inside the land given to them by the Lord, its value is based on the current distance from the jubilee year. If the jubilee is far off, then the land will be worth more than if it's close at hand. This injunction was to ensure that the regulations for fair pricing were carried out without exception. However, as we have seen, sometimes the Torah gives us a broad application so that it may be applied in other contexts. This particular passage has a specific, but also a general instruction that we can apply today. The hebrew word behind this prohibition of wrongdoing is tonu, from the root yana, which has the connotation of violent oppression. The sages interpret this to mean verbal harassment, but Rashi elaborates on this by saying that we should not use our speech to annoy our brother in any way, nor should we give him advice that is not appropriate for him. This first instruction from Rashi is fairly straightforward. We should never use our speech to upset another person. This includes teasing, name calling, or brow beating in any form. Rashi's second instruction instruction, however, is a little more puzzling. What does it mean that we should not use our speech to give another brother advice that is not appropriate for him? Isnt good advice simply good advice across the board? Well, not always. It really depends on the situation. Rashi says that the advice one gives should be in accordance with ones way of life and also that the advice should not be according to the benefit the advisor. In other words, when we offer advice, it should not be for our own self interest. For example, if a person advises you to purchase a particular insurance policy just because, they will receive a healthy commission from it, this is a problem. In this scenario, the person is considering their own interests over yours. Also, sometimes a person can give well meaning advice, but without any idea that it's completely outside of the realm of possibility for the person receiving the advice. Just because you can drop $10,000 cash into an investment opportunity doesn't mean everyone has that ability. Just because a particular medicine helped you doesn't mean it will work. Or even as beneficial for me. Just because you start your day by eating sugar frosted, caffeine infused, chocolate coated sugar puffs doesn't mean that I should. The list can go on indefinitely. The bottom line is that just because it's good for me doesnt necessarily mean its good for you. This interpretation is the driving principle behind the words of our master. So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them. For this is the law and the prophets. Matthew 712 we want people to treat us the way that we want to be treated, rather than the way they think we should be treated. The converse is also true. We should treat people the way they want to be treated rather than how we think they should be treated. When we help people by understanding their specific needs, rather than giving them what we think they need, we're living out the principles of the kingdom, the principles written for us in the Torah. Let's make sure the way we treat others is more of a help than a hindrance, a blessing more than a curse. Have you ever been given advice by someone who didn't fully understand your situation, and the advice they gave would have either hurt you financially or damaged a relationship let me know in the comments below, but let's make sure everyone remains anonymous, and it's not too late to start studying pirkeyavot with this. You can check it out using the link above or at the end of this video. I'll see you next week for another messianic insight into the eternal Torah of God. Blessings from Shalom Macon, the place where disciples of Yeshua learn, connect, and grow.
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