Mem Moment | From Counting to Creating
Parashat Behar-Bechukotai “On The Mountain-In My Statutes”
In Parashat Behar we encounter one of the most radical and transformative mitzvot in the entire Torah: Shnat HaYovel, the Jubilee year—the fiftieth year. This year marks the culmination of a cycle of seven periods of seven years, as the Torah teaches (Leviticus 25:8–9): we are commanded to count seven sabbatical cycles, forty-nine years in total, and then, on the tenth day of the seventh month, to sound the shofar with great force. The word yovel itself appears in the Torah as a synonym for the ram’s horn. Over time, the term “jubilee” entered European languages, where its meaning expanded to denote celebratory milestones—often in multiples of ten or twenty-five years.
Focusing on Shnat HaYovel, our parashah teaches that this year was marked by profound social and spiritual reset: the land lay fallow, as in the sabbatical year; all Israelite slaves were set free; and ancestral lands were returned to their original owners. Yet some thinkers emphasize that the Jubilee is not merely the conclusion of a natural cycle of sevens, but something that transcends it entirely. As expressed in Adam Min HaAdamah, the fiftieth year exists only because human beings declare and consecrate it. Without that conscious act, the Jubilee does not come into being. In this sense, it represents a partnership between divine command and human agency.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks notes that both Parashat Emor and Behar involve counting time: the Omer is counted by each individual (in the plural: usefartem lakhem), while the Jubilee years are counted collectively by the court (in the singular: vesafarta lekha). This reflects a broader idea: as individuals, we focus on days and the near future, but as leaders, we must think in terms of years, adopting a long-term vision to shape the future.
May these reflections inspire us to continue looking forward—with clarity, responsibility, and hope—as leaders, as community builders, and as human beings committed to fostering a society grounded in justice and peace.
