Every once in a while, without advanced warning, young artist and illustrator Netanel Epstein pops by the Israel Center and - without saying a word - hands me a drawing for Parshat HaShavua. This week's delightful piece shows happy vegetables preparing for a restful Shmita year. This is, in fact, one of the "reasons" given for Shmita. On the other hand, the farmer looks dismayed at the prospectof being banned from working the field. Hopefully, he'll get over it and enjoy a more leisurely year during which he will be able to devote more time to Torah study. This too is a "reason" for Shmita. Whose Jerusalem is it?! 3674 years ago, Avraham Avinu was commanded by G-d to bring Yitzchak up as an Olah on one of the mountains which G-d will tell him. The Jewish claim of Avraham and Yitzchak to this special place was reconfirmed by Yaakov Avinu and his experiences in the same special location. About 800 years after the Akeida, David HaMelechestablished Jerusalem as the Jewish capital of Israel. Send answers to Rabbi Phil Chernofsky at tt@ou.org
[The ParshaPix Index][The B'har-B'chukotai Homepage] |
