Welcome to TLDR Torah: a synopsis of the weekly parsha based on Robert Alter’s translation, plus a question to spur your Shabbat dinner (or any!) conversation.
Parsha Behar (Leviticus 25:1-26:2)
TLDR:
Welcome to the shortest — and penultimate — parsha in Leviticus. We’re nearly out of the legal woods and back to desert travel life.
Until then, it’s time for accountants to perk up! What happens to asset valuations when there is a clear expiration date? Read on.
Moses tells the people that after six years of harvests, they must *not* work their land for one year. This is called the “Shmita” year — a “sabbath to the Lord.”
After seven cycles of this (i.e. 49 years), comes the “Jubilee” year. On the 50th year, all land returns to the original owner. That means tribal properties revert to their original state every 50 years. Is this universal basic… asset provision?
Naturally, the land is priced depending on the distance to the Jubilee year. You are in essence purchasing annual yields; the closer you get to the Jubilee, the less expensive the land gets. A purchase is effectively a yield pre-payment.
But wait! Will there be two years of no yield (the 49th year — end of the Shmita cycle — and the 50th year)? Fear not. God says he’ll produce yield for 3 years in the 48th year.
Here’s a kink: the original owner of the land actually has a right to purchase it back at any time from the buyer. The Jubilee is the back-up in case the original owner can’t get the funds.
Another one: residential homes in urban areas are excluded from the Jubilee since they are not considered a source of income.
And again: Levites get their property indefinitely, homes or fields.
The parsha ends with rules regarding interest and the release of Israelite slaves during the Jubilee.
Question:
What’s the point of Shmita and the Jubilee? Do they serve the same purpose or different ones? The Parsha’s explanation for the Jubilee is, “No one shall hold crushing sway over him before your eyes.” Is this the Torah’s way of guaranteeing every family, no matter their position in life, a guaranteed asset to produce income? Or is it more to support those who are deeply in debt? What implications does that have for upholding the spirit of the Jubilee today even if it isn’t done in practice (for reasons relating to the dispersion of the 12 tribes)?
Economic questions to glaze over:
What would happen to the interest rate in year 48? What’s to prevent massive borrowings to gamble in advance of the Jubilee?
Who owns the assets built on top of (or stored) on the land?
Is the Jubilee net good or bad for long term investment? Growth? General societal happiness?
What would Georgists think about the Jubilee?
What will happen at the end of a 999-year lease? More here.
Can you borrow against your right to repurchase land? How would you price that?
I am totally focused on this year being a "Shmita” year. All phases of my life.