Berhar-Bechukotai, Leviticus 25:1-27:34 – Parashat ha Shavuah for Saturday, May 8, 2021

Religion and politics are a twisted partnership in our politics. It seems that most of the time religion is used as a justification for the most reactionary aspects of our society, particularly deep economic inequality and the denial of any safety net.
The vision in this week’s Torah could not be more different. The jubilee year, which comes once every fifty years, offers a radical vision of a society that resets itself. All land reverts to its original owners. All slaves are set free. Everything returns to what it once was… at the beginning.
At the heart of this vision is an idea. That the Earth, everything on it and every human being belong to God and no one else. Not another person, just God. No one can acquire too much wealth. There can be no billionaires while millions starve. No one person, or one corporation, can control the lives of millions. No one can control or exploit too much of this Earth.
This is what paradise might look like, genuine equity and freedom. If only we understood Who is really in charge and what is required of us.

~Rabbi Dean Kertesz