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Parsha Perspectives

Amassing wealth — and then counting it

By Rabbi Z. Sklar

וכל מעשר בקר וצאן כל אשר יעבור תחת השבט העשירי יהיה… לה’

“Any tithe of cattle or of sheep, any that passes under the staff, the tenth one shall be holy to Hashem” (Leviticus 27:32).

The Mishnah in Brachot (9:7) explains exactly how a farmer goes about tithing newborn animals. Every animal born to the herd during the past season is put into a corral. An opening is made no larger than the size needed for one animal to pass, thus ensuring that the animals are counted one at a time. Then the farmer begins to count them with a staff: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine. The tenth animal to exit is smeared with a red dye, and the farmer announces, “This one is ma’aser (the tithe).”

This long, drawn out procedure is the same regardless of whether the farmer has ten new animals or ten thousand. Couldn’t a more efficient and timely method be used to calculate the tithe? Rabbi Eliezer Gordon, a leader of the Teshe Yeshivah in Lithuania, once asked this question while on a fundraising visit. Rabbi Gordon encountered a wealthy entrepreneur and requested a donation of 500 rubles — a sizable amount in those days. The man was taken aback. “Rabbi, do you know how much 500 rubles is? I can give you 50 rubles or maybe even 100, but 500? How can you ask me for so much?”

Rabbi Gordon asked, “Are you familiar with the process of tithing newborn animals?”

“Of course,” the rich man replied.

“Listen, you’re in business,” said Rabbi Gordon. “Wouldn’t it have been more efficient to first count all the animals and then deduct one tenth of them for ma’aser? Why does the Torah command the owner to count them one at a time? It could take a person with a large herd many hours to tithe the thousands of newborn animals he has! This process is simply the most inefficient way to do this, not to mention the slowest.”

The wealthy person did not know how to respond.

Rabbi Gordon answered, “Let me explain. If the Torah would tell a wealthy Jew to count up his entire herd and then deduct 10 percent of them, the person would fulfill the commandment, but he’d feel somewhat reluctant. G-d, Who obviously understands human nature, stipulated the exact method for counting one’s flock. ‘One for me, two for me, three for me… nine for me, and one for G-d.’ The same thing then happens again. ‘One for me, two for me… nine for me, and one for G-d.’ After a while, the owner will likely feel that he isn’t giving enough! At the very least, he will give the ma’aser with joy and appreciate how much he himself has. This psychologically sound approach makes it easier for the owner to willingly fulfill his obligation. My friend, G-d has blessed you with great wealth. Among your many assets are factories, real estate, and shipping lines. Look how much you have! Is asking to give 500 rubles to charity too much to ask in return?”

When it comes to parting with our money, it’s natural to feel reluctant, even when we know we’re helping the poor. Contemplating the process involved in tithing one’s flock will not only make it easier for us to share our possessions with those less fortunate, it will also help us appreciate just how much we do have.

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Word of the Week

By Rabbi Mordechai Becher

דרור

“Proclaim דרור — dror — liberty throughout the land” (Leviticus 25:10). The Talmud (Rosh Hashanah 9b) understands that דרור is related to דר — to dwell. In the words of the Talmud, a free person is “one who can choose to live wherever he wants.” Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch translates the word as “return,” as in, “You shall proclaim a return throughout the land.” The Radak commentary (Sefer Hashorashim) relates the word to the expression for a pure, unadulterated spice, מר דרור — pure myrrh (Exodus 30:23) in that the spice is “free of foreign substances.” The word is also the name of a species of bird, mentioned in Psalms (84:4) and Proverbs (26:2), so called because it makes nests wherever it pleases, without any fear (Radak).

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Hey, I Never Knew That

By Rabbi Mordechai Becher

In ancient times, the shofar was also blown on occasions other than Rosh Hashanah. One such occasion was the release of indentured servants every jubilee (50th) year, which was proclaimed by the blowing of a shofar. The famous verse from the Torah portion this week is inscribed in part on the Liberty Bell in Philadelphia: “[…Blow the shofar throughout your land...] Proclaim liberty throughout the land for all its inhabitants…” (Leviticus 25:9-10). The sages of the Mishnah explained that the primary significance of the shofar, including that of Rosh Hashanah, is a proclamation of freedom (Sifri, Beha’alotcha, piska 19). The freedom proclaimed by the shofar is the freedom from our past, from our sins and failings. It is the freedom to change ourselves and the entire world through the power of free will and repentance. The shofar reminds us that we are always free to choose what is right and good, that our lives are not pre-determined, and that we are not slaves to the past.

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Table Talk

By Rabbi Dovid Gilman

In the Torah portion this week, we are taught the basic prohibition against charging interest. There are many subtle distinctions in Jewish law between transactions that carry a forbidden interest charge and those which are considered acceptable forms of business (Leviticus 25:35).

1. A loan is simply charging someone for the use of our money. Why might this be forbidden while it is permissible to charge money for lending out other possessions, such as a car?
2. In the verse in which the Torah forbids taking interest, it says, “Do not take interest, and you shall fear G-d” (Leviticus 25:36). Why might the Torah include the additional directive to fear of G-d specifically with this commandment, as opposed to any other prohibitions (e.g. stealing)?
3. When stating this law, the Torah says, “Do not give him money for interest… I am the L-rd your G-d Who took you out of Egypt” (Leviticus 25:37-38). What connection might there be between charging interest and our Exodus from (or our experience in) Egypt?

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A Question for the Rabbis

By Rabbi Mordechai Becher

“For they are My servants, because I took them out of Egypt” (Leviticus 25:42). The Talmud (Bava Metzia 10a) expands the verse as follows: “They are My servants — and not servants to servants.” Based on this, Jewish law rules that a worker may not be forced to work and may always resign, even in the middle of a job. Even if he has already been paid and doesn’t have the money to pay back his employer, he may nevertheless resign, albeit with a debt to the employer (Code of Jewish Law, Choshen Mishpat 333:3). What about someone who contracted to perform a specific task, as opposed to a specific amount of time? Most authorities rule that he may not retract, since he has not given his time to the employer but rather a promise to fulfill a task, and hence forcing him to complete that task would not make him a “servant to servants” (ibid and commentaries). Some prohibit a worker from hiring himself for three years or more if he will be living on the property of his employer, because this would be similar to selling himself into slavery (Ramah, ibid. See Minchat Asher, Behar, 61)

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