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Shabbat Parashat Behar 5772

Behar | 20 Iyar 5772 | 12/05/2012

Parashat Hashavuah: The Rights of Ownership of Land and One’s Self

This week’s short parasha (in Israel) deals with a string of laws and regulations that dictate many elements of commercial life, the most unique among them being the laws of Yovel. [They contain far-reaching limitations on commerce, appear basically only in this section of the Torah, and people of a normal life span experience it (even at the time of the Beit Hamikdash) no more than twice.] We will list the main topics, highlight certain elements, and, finally, analyze the connection between them.

Ask the Rabbi: Reciting R'tzei After Havdala

After finishing seuda shlishit I forgot to recite Birkat Hamazon until coming back from Ma’ariv. Was I supposed to say R’tzei in Birkat Hamazon at that point?

Ein Ayah: Limiting a Dream’s Impact

Rav Chisda said: All dreams, and do not fast.

P'ninat Mishpat: An Aggressive Landlord – part II

The defendants (=def) rented an apartment from the plaintiff (=pl) as they were preparing for aliya, signing a two-year contract (via fax) and paying two months rent weeks before they were to come. The contract required them to give a security deposit “upon their arrival in Israel.” Upon arrival, the relationship began tensely when def complained by phone about an element of the apartment’s condition, prompting pl to react with verbal aggressiveness. Upon their first face-to-face meeting, pl demanded the security deposit in cash or with an Israeli check. Def, who were without an Israeli bank account and were experiencing difficulties with cash transfer, were prepared to give only a foreign currency check, but pl viewed this as a ploy. Pl called daily, with the two sides barely understanding each other, speaking in a manner that pl referred to as resolute and def referred to as threatening. After meeting a rabbi and a lawyer, def took their advice to unilaterally back out of the rental. Pl sued for breach of contract, which had caused him the loss of four months’ rent (for non-occupancy) and the difference between def’s rental agreement and the lower rent of the new tenants. Def responded that it was not possible to continue living under the threat of eviction and possible violence. Their legal advisors also claim that the agreement was invalid because pl displayed a situation known as ayil v’nafik azuzei (anxiously seeking payment) and because pl did not sign the contract.

This edition of
Hemdat Yamim

is dedicated
to the memory of
R' Meir
ben Yechezkel Shraga Brachfeld

o.b.m

Hemdat Yamim

is endowed by

Les & Ethel Sutker

of Chicago, Illinois
in loving memory of
Max and Mary Sutker
and

Louis and Lillian Klein, z”l

This edition of
Hemdat Yamim
is dedicated to the memory of

Rabbi Shlomo Merzel o.b.m,
who passed away
on the 10th of Iyar 5771

Dedicated in memory of

Leiser Presser

ben R'Aharon Yitzhak and Bracha

on the occasion of his yahrzeit, 24 Iyar,

and members of his family

who perished in the shoah

Al Kiddush Hashem.

A weekly divrei Torah leaflet: A Glimpse at the Parasha, Ask the Rabbi, From the writings of Harav Avraham Yitzchak Hakohen Kook, zt”l, Pninat Mishpat (Jewish Monetary Law).