Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 22 Iyar, 5784 –Day 37 of Omer
Parsha Be-Hukkotai – “My Laws” (Leviticus 26:3 – 27:34)
Fifth Portion: Leviticus 27:16 – 27:21

Good morning! We have three more portions of Leviticus left! It is hard to believe we are coming to a close on our third book of the Torah already!

Today’s Omer theme is the Discipline of Bonding

From Chabad:

Examine the discipline of your bonding. Bonding must be done with discretion and careful consideration with whom and with what you bond. Even the healthiest and closest bonding needs “time out”, a respect for each individual’s space.

Do I overbond? Am I too dependent on the one I bond with? Is he too dependent on me? Do I bond out of desperation? Do I bond with healthy, wholesome people?

Exercise for the day: Review the discipline in your bonding experiences to see if it needs adjustment.

This is an interesting concept. Bonding is amazing. And – sometimes? We need space. One of my favorite books is called “Attached” written by Amir Levine and Rachel Heller.  You can find it on amazon here:

It is an amazing book – basically about the science of bonding.  There are three main attachment styles – anxious, avoidant, secure (there is also anxious/avoidant).  Today’s Omer theme is addressing the anxious attachment style it would seem.

Who we choose to attach to (and it is a choice) is critical. We often times automatically attach with those we connect – because one act of bonding means we want to commit to others.  Today’s theme is about the discipline of bonding – choosing to create space, and intentionally attach to those who are healthy.

If someone tells you “I need space” – does that trigger anxiety? That is something to look at! This is the discipline of bonding. Being intentional of who we attach to.

Let’s dig into today’s portion with this in mind:

16And if a man consecrates some of the field of his inherited property to the Lord, the valuation shall be according to its sowing: an area which requires a chomer of barley seeds at fifty silver shekels.

17Now, if he consecrates his field from [when] the Jubilee year [has ended], it shall remain at [its full] valuation.

First – what does “consecrating” mean? It means “to make or declare sacred.” Why would it be important to value property that is being made sacred?  Because again, like with the consecration of people? The Priests would need to value it.  And it’s value would be based on sowing capacity.

If it is consecrated in the Jubilee year – and at full sowing capacity  that means, it will be sacred for 50 years. Full value. 50 sheckles. One sheckle per year.

18But if he consecrates his field after the Jubilee, the kohen shall calculate the money for him, according to the remaining years until the [next] Jubilee year, and it shall be deducted from the valuation.

If it is consecrated after the jubilee year, the priests would calculate the value based on the jubilee.

19If the one who consecrated it redeems the field, he shall add to it a fifth of the valuation money, and it shall be his.

So basically, if he decides – nope – need that land back? He can buy it back plus 20%.

20But if he does not redeem the field, and if he has sold the field to someone else it may no longer be redeemed.

If he sells the land, he can’t redeem it. It is no longer his.  It belongs to someone else. However, the land that was consecrated?

21But, when the field leaves in the Jubilee, it shall be holy to the Lord like a field devoted; his inherited property shall belong to the kohen.

The priests get the field forever.

Ok. All of this. Why? Why set these rules up?

The fields could represent our hearts. Our land. Our connections. So many possibilities.

The truth is – we need to ask ourselves – what is sacred to us? How connected are we to the sacred?

And bringing it back to the Omer theme? Is our attachment to others sacred? Or is it something else? And maybe the “land” is attachment? Just some things I am contemplating on.

If we (I) Decide an attachment is sacred – does the other person see it that way?  If not, that may not be a healthy, sacred attachment.

What are your thoughts?

Here are my thoughts from two years ago:

Tyler’s Torah Thoughts for 25 Iyar, 5782

Today is the 40th day of the Omer.

As we focus this week on bonding with Hashem and with one another, todays portion focuses on the idea of “hereditary land.”

What is interesting to me as we jump into the passage is the idea of hereditary land is grounded in this concept of bonding. This is land we are (at least should be) connected to on an emotional level.

The Torah talks about when someone makes the decision to take this land and consecrate it to God’s temple.

I think in the past when I’ve read this, I don’t know that I connected this with any kind of heart. I figured this was land the owner no longer wanted and was giving it to God; almost like leftovers. “I’m done using this land, God; I don’t want it anymore. You can have it!”

But what if this is land that is highly desirable. It’s meant to be ours and in our generations to come? What if we are giving Hashem our best and not our leftovers? How does this passage read? Let’s approach it with this mindset!

First the Torah says the valuation of the land is not to be based on market value. Instead, the valuation is based on its “sowing capacity.”

I had to Google sowing capacity. The best I came up with was this:

“Field capacity is influenced by soil texture; for example, fine-textured soils, such as clay or loam soils, have larger moisture holding field capacity than coarse-textured soils such as sandy-textured soils. Dry conditions influence soil moisture availability differently depending on soil texture.” (From an Iowa state professor in the department of agronomy).

So it seems the sowing capacity has to do with the moisture.

The valuation according to the Torah is fifty silver sheckles per homer of barley seed that can be sowed.

So, if the land has no use to the owner, and the goal is to make a lot of money, that isn’t going to work with Hashem. He values the field in terms of capacity.

Let’s connect this to our relationship with Him. The idea of our capacity to love Him and how moist the soil is within our hearts to love Him is where our value is. That’s not to say if our soil is dry we have no value. We still do. But there is freedom and liberation knowing that the key to increase our own value is to allow the unlimited source of moisture (Hashem’s love) into our hearts to moisten them.

What are we doing to increase the sowing capacity of our hearts? Do we remain dry and dusty? Or do we allow the water to moisten us and make us more pliable?

Ok. Back to the passage. The Torah talks about the time of the field being sold in connection with the jubilee year. The value has the most right after the jubilee year. The further away from that, the less you will get for your field.

This means we are ripe after a jubilee year! Turning 50 and entering my first year post jubilee, this passage has significant meaning for me personally. I’m at a time in my life where I have incredible value – and moistness in my soul. I don’t say this to brag; I say this as a way to connect with the passage. If I reflect on where I was at when I turned 48 (the sabbath year prior to my jubilee year) I was a very different person than I am today. The sowing capacity of my heart has been transformed. And for that I’m grateful. It’s been a painful process getting here – but the field is ready to be planted with seeds.

Now. After consecrating the field to Hashem, the Torah talks about redeeming the field back. So in a sense, we can pay a price to give our hearts and fields to Hashem for a period of time, and then redeem them back. The cost is 20% (1/5th) the fixed value. That’s 10 sheckles per Omer of barley added.

Finally, if the owner does NOT redeem the field, and the treasurer of the temple sells the field to someone else, it will no longer be redeemed back to the original owner in the jubilee. Instead it will revert back to the temple and belong to the priests.

So even if our field (or our hearts) is never redeemed by us; it still has value as it belongs to Hashem and the priests!

Interesting take this morning! What are your thoughts?