Rabbi Howard Morrison

If one needed a single Torah portion to show to fellow Jews and to society at large regarding the rights of Israel and the contributions made by the Jewish people to the world, one need look no further than this week's Torah portion, Parshat Behar.

The Jewish people gave to the world the teaching that one should rest every seventh day - "Et Shabtotai Tishmoru/You shall safeguard My Sabbaths."

The Jewish people gave to the world the teaching that the land should rest every seventh year - "Shemitta/Sabbatical."

The Jewish people gave to the world the teaching that every forty-nine years, one must return one's personal land to previous personal ownership - "Yovel/Jubilee." The earth belongs to no person or nation - The earth is the Lord's. God is landlord and people are tenants.

The Jewish people gave to the world the teaching to renounce all forms of slavery and to preserve freedom for all - "You shall proclaim liberty in the land to all its inhabitants."

The Jewish people gave to the world the teaching that every sovereign nation should have the right to exist on and govern its own land. For four thousand years, only the Jewish people have been challenged by the world regarding sovereignty in its own land. Zionism is a universal message that every nation deserves its inherent right to sovereignty. "When you enter the land that I (God) assign to you."

All of the above quotations appear in Parshat Behar - a noteworthy Parsha to share with fellow Jews and the world at large.

Shabbat Shalom,

Rabbi Howard Morrison