Parshas Behar Overview

Parshas Behar is the shortest parsha in the Book of Vayikra, containing 2,817 Hebrew letters, 737 words, 57 verses, and 99 lines in a Torah Scroll. It commences with God instructing Moshe on the laws of the Sabbatical year for the land at Mount Sinai. The land was to rest entirely on the seventh year, prohibiting agricultural work. The people were allowed to consume what the land naturally produced. The Jubilee year was also to be sanctified, and freedom was proclaimed with a horn blast. G-d promised bountiful crops in the sixth year to sustain three years. Regulations included land ownership, Levites' rights, lending practices, and humane treatment guidelines. As detailed in Sefer ha-Chinuch, the parashah involves 7 positive and 17 negative commandments, encompassing laws on Shemitah, Yovel, fair transactions, ethical conduct, and compassion towards others.