Parshat Behar-Bechukotai - The Secret of Ratzo V'Shov and the Illumination of the Will
The Secret of Ratzo V'Shov: Man's Journey of Growth
"All of life is such zigzags; one moment is an ascent, the next moment is a descent. A person is constantly thrown, tossed and shaken, and then, behold, there is a very great salvation, and suddenly a descent again, etc., etc."
Man in this world, his entire spiritual work is managed according to ratzo v'shov (running and returning). What is the meaning of ratzo v'shov? Ratzo means to run to Hashem. It is impossible to be with Hashem all the time; one could burn up. We were with Hashem in hitbodedut, in prayers, in tears; we were with Hashem in songs, in dances, constantly saying thank you to Hashem. Now one needs to run to eat, or to shop, or to the bank, or to be a little with the children; one needs to do something.
It is impossible to be constantly in ratzo; ratzo v'shov, ratzo v'shov. And when he returns (shov), where does he return to? To his simple, lower reality, with all the bothersome thoughts, with the worries, with his ego, with his pride. A person might think he deserves the whole world, and he needs this and he needs that, and he is constantly thinking—each person and his thoughts.
But then he receives some blow, or some illumination, some understanding; something happens to him and he realizes—that's it, I must run to Hashem, I have no choice. And then he begins again to run to Hashem. And when he returns down again, in shov, in the descent, he no longer returns to the same place he was the previous time. Because he is progressing.
Every time he experiences ratzo v'shov, it is not the same movement; he arrives in the shov a little less low because he has already accomplished something, he has already reached some spiritual attainment. So even though he is now engaged in eating, in drinking, in his work, in simple things, today he no longer thinks the way he thought yesterday. He now has a further attainment. And this is how it is all the time, in this manner. This is the process of growth; this is how a person grows.
Shmita and Yovel: The Revelation of the Illumination of the Will
"And the Sabbath produce of the land shall be for you to eat" (Leviticus 25:6)
Shmita and Yovel are the aspect of Shabbat, the aspect of the Illumination of the Will, and therefore everything is ownerless (hefker). This is a hint to the Illumination of the Will, that the Illumination of the Will spreads so much that no one is particular to restrict what is his; rather, everything is ownerless. For there is no restriction at all, only simple Will throughout the whole world.
And then the mitzvah is to allow even the animals to eat the produce of the field, all the more so "and for your cattle, etc., shall all its produce be to eat," because the essence of the Illumination of the Will is through eating, as our master of blessed memory wrote (Likutey Moharan, Torah 7). And this is what our Sages of blessed memory said regarding the resting of an animal, "Give it rest," that it may pluck and eat.
That is, because through eating, the Illumination of the Will is revealed, and the main effect is upon the reincarnated soul, which is truly a human being, upon whom the Illumination of the Will shines in order to cleanse and elevate it.
(Likutey Halachot, Laws of Hiring Workers 2:5)
Why is the Punishment for Shmita Exile?
"Then shall the land be paid her Sabbaths..." (Leviticus 26:34)
We learned in Tractate Shabbat (33a):
"For the sin of Shmita (when it is not observed properly), exile comes to the world, and they exile them, Israel (from their land), and others come and settle in their place (in the Land of Israel)."
The question is asked: Why is Israel punished for the non-observance of the mitzvah of Shmita specifically with the punishment of exile from the Land? The Sages of Israel explain this, that by fulfilling the mitzvah of Shmita, we testify before the whole world that we are not the owners of the Land, but rather we dwell upon it by the grace of Heaven, and permission was given to us by Hashem, blessed be He, to work it and guard it.
Furthermore, we show by this that the Land was given as a deposit for an additional six years, and so it is every Shmita (every seven years). But, when Israel, Heaven forbid, nullifies the mitzvah of Shmita, contrary to the word of Hashem—it is as if they are demonstrating before the world that they are the owners of the Land, and there is no Heavenly authority over them. Because of this, they are punished with exile from the Land—measure for measure.
Sweetening the Judgments: Curses that Turn into Blessings
The tzaddik Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl once visited, in his youth, the holy Baal Shem Tov on the Shabbat of Parshat "Bechukotai". At the end of the Shacharit prayer, the Baal Shem Tov approached to read the Torah portion in his holy manner, and when he reached the verses of the Tochecha (rebuke) in the portion, he invited Rabbi Nachum for an aliyah to the Torah.
At the first moment, Rabbi Nachum felt disheartened that they specifically "honored" him with this aliyah of the verses of the curses. However, once the Baal Shem Tov began reading the verses, Rabbi Nachum—who suffered afflictions from various bodily ailments—felt that with the reading of each verse of the Tochecha, the severe pains and ailments were departing and leaving him one by one.
And when the Baal Shem Tov finished reading the verses of the Tochecha, Rabbi Nachum felt a great measure of vitality and freshness in his body, as if he had been created anew. Until his old age and hoary years, Rabbi Nachum of Chernobyl would mention the special taste of that Shabbat, when he stayed in the presence of Rabbi Yisrael Baal Shem Tov, and in the merit of the tzaddik of the generation, all the curses in Parshat "Bechukotai" were turned into blessings for him.
The Prohibition of Interest and the Resurrection of the Dead
"Take no interest or increase from him..." (Leviticus 25:36)
We learned in Midrash Rabbah:
"Hashem said: Whoever lived (made a living) on interest in this world - will not live in the World to Come."
Regarding this matter, Chassidim tell a story: Once, in Poznan in western Poland, one of the wealthy men of the city passed away, who had made his living all his days from loans with fixed interest. The members of the Chevra Kadisha (burial society) demanded a very large sum of money in exchange for the plot of land they designated for that deceased person in the cemetery. This angered the heirs of the deceased, and in their great fury, they turned with a harsh complaint to the gentile chief of police in the city.
He did not delay much, and ordered to summon to his office Rabbi Akiva Eiger, the renowned rabbi of Poznan in those days, so that he could explain to him the meaning of the high financial demand of the Chevra Kadisha from the family of the moneylender. Rabbi Akiva Eiger said to the chief of police: We, the Jews, believe with complete faith in the Resurrection of the Dead, and consequently, all the deceased are destined to return their burial plots after they rise to life.
However, our early Sages established that those who lend with interest will not rise in the Resurrection of the Dead together with the dead of Israel. It turns out, therefore, that the deceased before us—who was a moneylender for many years—is taking his burial plot permanently. Since this is so, it is only right that those in charge of the cemetery take from his heirs an especially large sum of money in exchange for his grave. This explanation by the elderly Gaon seemed reasonable in the eyes of the gentile chief of police, and he made up his mind not to intervene anymore in that dispute within the community.